powder - The Gorge is my Gym

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Random Morning Thoughts

You know what I love most about spring? I love not being cold. I love sitting in my house writing a forecast in a tank top without a beanie on my head. I love walking outside with enough skin exposed for the mosquitoes to bite me and the bees to sting me. I could do without the bites and stings, but it’s a small price to pay for sun-kissed skin.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

As much as I don’t like seeing sprinkles in the forecast for Mt. Hood this weekend, I’d rather see sprinkles than snowy roads…

Your favorite beach	Dawn Patrol	9am- 11:30a	11:30a- 3pm	3pm- dusk
Today’s Gorge Wind
Rooster’s Rocks	E 22-25	E 24-28	E 20-24	E 10-15
Steven’s Locks	E 14-18	E 21-24	E 21-24	E 10-15
The rest of Da Gorge	E 0-5	E 3-6	E 8-13	E 3-6

Gorge Wind

We had a .09 east gradient at 6am. Well, 6:30am, because that’s what time it was when I dragged myself out of bed. We’ll see easterlies pick up to 24-28 at at Rooster and 21-24 at Steven’s Locks. The wind will fade to 15-18 this afternoon, with 5-10 from Wyeth (home of the Gorge 400 trail) eastward all day. Tomorrow starts with easterlies at 10mph or so, becoming calm mid-morning and switching to westerly early afternoon. Expect the wind to rise to 21-24 from Stevenson to Moiser by 4pm, with slightly stronger wind slightly possible.

Friday brings westerlies at 24-28, but the exact location depends on how strong a marine push we get. Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena, Avery, and the Maryhill beaches are as close to a sure thing as you’ll get on Friday. The Columbia is at 221,000cfs right now. That’s a good level for Maryhill.

Gorge Weather

Road and Mountain Biking

This evening is the Post n’ Pinot all levels women’s mountain bike ride at Dirty Fingers, brought to you by the Dirty Harlots and colorful emails of Ms. Heather Pola. If you want to join this magical forest-bound procession of estrogen and boobies, meet at Dirty Fingers at 5:30. You’ll be provided with a free recovery beverage – beer or a glass of wine – after the event. Tomorrow night is the Dirty Fingers Post n’ Pint, a magical procession of sweaty balls, manliness, and testosterone.

The road biking will be spectacular today, with light wind on the pavement. I went for a recovery ride on the road yesterday, and ended up riding 42 miles because the pavement was so tacky. Oops. Recovery ride today, then. The road biking tomorrow will also be good, at least until noon, when we’ll start seeing traces of westerlies.

The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear. Temira approves. Click to join.

River Levels

OMG. I forgot to call Wet Planet AGAIN. Or Drifters. Or anyone else. The Hood is at 5.1′ and the Klickitat is at 2100. Those levels are, in my world, perfect.

Events – email me if I’ve missed any outdoor-related events

There is sailboat racing at the Hood River Marina this evening. There’s Karma Yoga at 4pm at Flow. There’s ping pong at the Hood River armory at 6:30pm.

Coming up this weekend, it’s the last day of ski season at Meadows on Saturday. Timberline, of course is open pretty much all summer. Also Saturday, there’s a free youth fishing clinic for kids under 13 at Middle Fork Pond. There’s Gorge Cup windsurfing at the Hood River Event Site, and there’s a meeting about the future of the Lower White Salmon at the Husum Fire Hall at 9am. That’s all on Saturday.

On Sunday, there’s a multi-sport swap meet at Windance, and Big Winds has a free youth standup paddle clinic from 1-4. That clinic is for kids from age 7 to age 14.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

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Random Morning Thoughts

I’ve been thinking about people’s talking and listening styles for the last 24 hours. People have different percentage preferences. Some like to talk 70% of the time and listen 30%, and some are the opposite, and people fall all along this spectrum. I’ve been thinking about how these different styles affect friendships and relationships, and no, sorry, I don’t have any deep conclusions to share. I just wish that people would ask more questions of each other and listen carefully to the answers, rather than just talking or letting someone talk. That is all for today.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

I refuse to admit the possibility that it may snow or rain on Saturday. I absolutely refuse to accept the possibility of slushy roads. I would really like to drive my car to work so I can bring down all my gear, but slushy roads will keep that from happening. There. There’s your Mt. Hood snow forecast. Take that.

Your favorite beach	Dawn Patrol	9am- 11:30a	11:30a- 3pm	3pm- dusk
Today’s Gorge Wind
Rooster’s Rocks	E 22-25	E 24-28	E 20-24	E 10-15
Steven’s Locks	E 14-18	E 21-24	E 21-24	E 10-15
The rest of Da Gorge	E 0-5	E 3-6	E 8-13	E 3-6

Gorge Wind

The easterlies are at it again, ruffling the Columbia’s glassy demeanor at the western end of the Gorge. Expect the easterlies to hit 24-28 at Rooster and the low 20’s at Steven’s Locks, with 7-10 or so in the Hood River Valley, mountain, and Rowena area. The wind will slowly back off as the day goes on, dropping to 10-15 at Rooster in the evening.

Tomorrow looks very similar, with perhaps 4mph less for the peak wind speeds. Thursday starts off glassy and picks up to W 18-23 from Stevenson to Hood River late in the day. If the long range forecast holds – and you know my feelings on that: long range forecasts are unreliable – we’ll see several strong west wind days starting on Friday.

Gorge Weather

Hot n’ sunny for the next three days. No rainbows. Mother Nature, you suck. I’m going to go make rainbows in my garden with a hose.

Expect temps in the low 40’s this morning, rising to the low 80’s this afternoon. That’s a 40 degree spread. Pretty impressive, isn’t it? Easterlies will hit the high single digits around the valley. If you gotta spray chemicals, you can do it today, or better yet, Thursday. Or maybe it’s too hot to spray? Tomorrow starts with temps in the upper 40’s, rising to the upper 80’s. Again, an impressive spread. Same wind. Thursday starts out in the low 50’s and rises to the upper 80’s. Calm wind picks up out of the west after 3pm.

Road and Mountain Biking

The dirt was nice in Post Canyon yesterday. Not epic. Not perfect, but very nice. I rode my Yelli Screamy (the best 29’er hardtail EVER) to the top of Post Canyon and then back down. Man oh man is that bike fun. And fast. Faster downhill, somehow, than my 6” travel bike. Me n’ that Yelli have bonded. And I’m not the only one around here who loves that bike.

There are lots of happy Yelli owners grinning so hard their faces have fallen off. That’s how you can tell who’s been riding the best bike ever – those folks no longer have faces. Maybe you want to get a Yelli too? They come in a rainbow of colors, and you know how I love rainbows!

Oh right. Biking. Um. The road biking will be awesome today with the light wind, assuming you get out before the hot temps. Actually, the next three days will be awesome.

Someone emailed me and said Whoopdee is epic.

Hood River County Forestry just started a timber harvest at the corner of Post Canyon and Riorden. So, the muddy section of 140 between Riorden Hill and FMX is closed. So is Barn Door (150). So is (and this sucks) 130 between the 133 (borderline) intersection in the middle of the clearcut and … well, basically down to Antoine’s/Bladerunner (where 130 (?) and 135 intersect and cross Post Canyon Road). So unless you know a way around, you cannot ride the Super D course until the logging is done. As for the two men who rode right past the “trail closed” signs right in front of the Hood River County Forester around noon yesterday, you are a couple of assholes (and at 50+ years old, you should know better). Doing stuff like that jeopardizes everyone’s access.

And… on a brighter note, Dirty Fingers will be showing the Giro d’Italia bike race on the TV at 5pm.

The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear. Temira approves. Click to join.

River Levels

The Hood is at 5.2′, which as far as I am concerned, is perfect. The Klickitat’s at 2130 cfs, and the White Salmon, well, I don’t know, because yet again, I forgot to call Wet Planet yesterday. You wouldn’t think this would be so hard!

Events – email me if I’ve missed any outdoor-related events

It’s Tuesday, and that means you should go ride your brains out and then eat $12 Prime Rib and fries at Cebu from 5pm to 9pm. Or you could play rugby at the Hood River Marina at 5:30pm. Tomorrow night you can do all sorts of things: Karma Yoga (free or by donation) at Flow at 4pm, the women’s Post and Pinot all levels mountain bike ride at Dirty Fingers at 5:30. Sailboat racing at the Hood River Marina at 6pm, and ping pong at the Hood River armory at 6:30pm.

Coming up this weekend, there’s a Gorge Cup windsurfing race at the Event Site, it’s the last day of the season at Mt. Hood Meadows, and there’s a swap meet at Windance on Sunday.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira