Your forecaster. Click on her to donate. Thank you!
Random cool advertising: The Mt. Adams Country Bicycle Tour
Hey all, I know you like to ride bikes. June 28th is the Mt. Adams Country Bicycle Tour, benefiting local charities such as the Trout Lake, BZ and Glenwood Fire Emergency Services, the Trout Lake Grange and School Projects. You can choose from the 11.5 mile Family Fun Ride, the 51 Mile Glenwood Loop or the 54 Mile [super-rad] Forest Loop. Or go big with the 105 Mile Infinity Ride. These are two of my favorite loops in the Gorge, and doing them supported is a great way to go. Sign up now.
Random Morning Thoughts
I’ve been getting frustrated with Mother Nature’s stinginess with the rainbows lately, so I took things into my own hands: I turned on my sprinkler system and made my own rainbows.
| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster’s Rocks | light | 5-10 | 5-10 | 5-10 | |
| Steven’s Locks | 0-5 | 13-15 | 15-18 | 18-22 | |
| Hatchery (minus a few for Hood River) | 8-13 | 16-19 | 18-22 | 18-22 | |
| Doug’s, etc. | 10-15 | 8-13 | 16-19 | 18-22 | |
| Rufus, etc. | 5-10 | 8-13 | 16-19 | 18-22 | |
| Roosevelt, etc. | 5-10 | 10-14 | 10-14 | 14-19 | |
Gorge Wind
Every morning I sit in my house and look at wind models. I write down the Gorge forecast. If it’s going to be windy at the coast, I write that forecast down too. And then I inevitably forget to include the coast forecast. So, today I’m going to include it first.
Today will be windy on the coast. Expect 20mph up north, 30mph central, and 40mph down south. Waves are 6′ at 7 seconds. Tomorrow and Sunday will be windy too: 15-20mph north, 25-30mph central, and 40mph south with 5′ at 7 seconds on Saturday and 4′ at 7 seconds on Sunday. The water temp out there is… well, I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s frigid since the north wind’s been blowing for days.
But there are just a few of you interested in that forecast. Most of you want the HERE forecast. And the NOW forecast. Ok. Here and now, it is not yet windy. But… with a .09 gradient to start the day, it will inevitably become windy with the passage of time. Expect 8-13 this morning picking up to 16-19 by mid morning and 18-22 this afternoon, strongest from Stevenson to Mosier in the morning and filling in to Doug’s, etc., in the afternoon.
Saturday starts with 10-15 near Hood River, picking up to 17-21 by midday and 23-26 mid-afternoon. The strongest wind will be near Hood River early and from Stevenson to Doug’s in the afternoon, possibly filling in at Maryhill late in the day.
Sunday starts with 15-18 or so near Hood River. A weak weather thingie passing during the day will kick the wind up to 24-28ish in the afternoon, likely strongest and steadiest at Stevenson, and likely filling in all the way out to Arlington.
The long range, and as always, long-shot extended models suggest next Monday, Tuesday and Thursday will be quite windy. But don’t hold your breath, as the Classic Gorge Setup is going to disappear for at least a couple days next week, making the wind less … awesome. But still windy. Our perfect June streak looks to continue…
Gorge Weather
Once again, all I have to say is, “What you see is what you get.” Temps in the low to mid 50’s early and mid 70’s in the afternoon. Moderate west wind. No rain, rainbows or thunderstorms. I wish it would rain for just one day. The trails need it. My garden needs it. Mark’s garden probably needs it too.
Road and Mountain Biking
Road bikers, please join the Save Vista Ridge Facebook group. And please invite anyone and everyone who ride bikes or motorcycles or drives a car on that road. The USFS has plans to rip out the pavement next summer, and that will destroy road biking in the upper Hood River Valley.
A few friends and I are forming a group to work toward finding solutions to the funding problem that is driving the plan to rip out the pavement. I will keep you apprised, and if you have any powerful connections in the federal government, please get in touch with me.
The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear. Temira approves. Click to join.
River Levels
The Hood is at 4′. It’s pretty much done for the year. The White Salmon is at 3.5′. The Klickitat is at 1830cfs (fun). The John Day dam is putting out 320kcfs and The Dalles dam is reading 313kcfs.
Events – email me if I’ve missed any outdoor-related events
Tonight is registration for the Gorge Groms windsurfing program from 4-6 at the Hook. Come get your kids signed up. $100 for the summer gets your kids access to kid-specific windsurfing gear. Tonight is also First Friday in Hood River.
Coming up this weekend, Post Canyon hosts the Oregon Enduro race, so you may want to ride elsewhere between now and Sunday, or at least be prepared for extra traffic on the trails. Saturday is National Trails Day. Contact your local ranger station to see what they have planned. NWTA has a Sandy Ridge shuttle day on Saturday. All proceeds benefit the Sandy Ridge trail system. Saturday is the Portland World Naked Bike Ride. Sunday is the Gorgeous Gals Ride in The Dalles, benefiting Haven, working to prevent domestic violence.
There is a Gorge Groms work party on Saturday morning from 10am to 1pm. They’re doing sail rigging, board repair, shed cleaning/organizing, and building a rigging deck. Bring board repair materials and wood working tools to build a simple plywood deck.
If you would like to say goodbye to Matt Klee, his memorial service is at the Gorge Room at the Hood River Inn at 5pm on Saturday. Jen Klee has asked that people make donations to the Hood River Area Trail Stewards in lieu of sending flowers. If you want to hang with friends after the service, Dirty Fingers has kindly offered the shop as a gathering place. Please bring a potluck dish to share with Matt’s mountain biking family (that’d be everyone who rides mountain bikes around here).
Have an awesome day today!
Temira