The Chilly But Smokin Spring and Summer Gorge Report

[covesurfer]

Having the vast majority of my paddling time in the Columbia, when I was in Maui I was naturally much more comfortable and had an absolute blast on the S side runs that I got to do. The N side was as LPB describes but addictive too. Those big swells are seductive and I think your paddling improves in the quest to catch the odd one here and there. I felt pretty comfortable on the S side but felt challenged and like I really had to reach on the N side. Even with a lot more experience, I don't see that changing much.

Once you develop a perspective on what you are actually seeing on video, given the camera distortion, you can begin to appreciate what really good paddlers can do. What is truly amazing is to watch video of elite paddlers in the open ocean, guys like  Conner, Dave K, Livio, Scott Trudon, etc. and they make it look so easy. The video of last year's Maui-Molokai race that HM took is my favorite. I could watch Conner catching ocean swells for a long time and not get bored. Whenever I want to inspire myself to paddle better, I watch Conner on the Kamalo Speedway....

[JP4]

Wow, that looks really epic Gregg.  I think those are some of the longest glides I've seen, ocean or river.  Though you guys had obvious epic conditions, as you know from your river skipping days, the REALLY big wind and swell is even further upriver around Three Mile Canyon.  The river really straightens out there with a long fetch.  I know back in the day windsurfing, I've been in troughs so deep there that I couldn't see the highway on occasion.  I don't know what the logistics would be of launching and taking out, but I think that has the potential to be even bigger.  You're not making me jealous or anything sitting at home nursing my broken leg:)

Jeff

[headmount]

Wow.  Just checked the map and it's about 1k elevation on the bluffs over the river which they have listed at 265'.... combined with the desert heat... can you say blast furnace?  Man, what a set up.

[PonoBill]

Yeah, there's a reason the gorge is The Gorge. It's a completely unique wind tunnel. Hot dry air at one end, cold, wet air at the other, and walls 500 feet deep for a few hundred miles. Up in the hills a mile from the gorge the wind might be blowing 5MPH while it's fifty on the river. No one is really prepared for how unusual a place this is. Skinny people show up with a 10 meter kite or a sail quiver that starts at 4.0 and they just blow away, landing somewhere in Idyho.

For downwinding, a big element of the long, long rides is how steep the face of the swell is. Forty knot wind pushing in the opposite direction of a 4-5 knot current. Stacks the faces. You railroad over some of the swells and the backside looks like someone took a scoop out some jello--like a deep fold in the water. Drop in and hang on. It's the natural element for the original Glide. That huge rocker fits right into the swells. the new glides are faster, but the old ones you hardly have to paddle. Just stand there and they'll catch a glide.

[covesurfer]

Five of us braved temp's in the low 40's this morning to 'harvest' a little action from the 15 to 30+ mph gusty frontal wind that showed up in the Gorge last night. With it being so cold, there is snow down pretty low on the surrounding mountains and it felt like a full on winter day. Still, we were all stoked for some gliding, especially after last week's incredible run out in the eastern Gorge.

I guess our timing was pretty fair as we launched around 10AM from Viento, in the sun, right on the edge of the cloud line.  In the Gorge, the edge of the cloud line is usually a good place to be, and if there's solid blue sky that you're downwinding into, so much the better.

When we showed up at Viento to meet up with our paddling buddy Rob, he was just coming off the water having grabbed a quick windsurfing session before his paddle. Pretty cool! We were on the water in just a few minutes and instantly into good strong gusty wind with a three to four foot swell. The current was strong and it was very noticeable. Getting into glides when the wind backed off was like paddling in concrete and I noticed that my speed was really slow. I'd guess we had current around 2 to 2.5 mph which doesn't sound like much but it is.

Even with the strong current and gusty conditions, there were some nice glides to be had. Not as good as last week's but decent. The big gusts made things a lot more fun but the swell was sticky and maybe because of the strong current, the short wave period and steep swell was really noticeable. It was paddle hard from the front, catch the glide, run to the tail to keep the nose from burying and just as you'd start to really get into it, it was over. Back to the front seat, and do it again.

When we got to the last couple miles, the wind picked up really strong in the spot where it often dies out, right around Wells Island. I was getting glides on short period steep swell without much effort at all. Lots of fun! 

Shot a little video which I'll try and clean up and post later. Overall, a nice if cold run. It's not going to warm up any tomorrow and we were all talking about going again anyway and everybody was smiling even when they were commenting on how hard a paddle it was. Good stuff.

[PonoBill]

Could be 3 to 3.5 this time of year. Depends on where you are of course, but mid river, for sure.

[bbarry]

 Getting into glides when the wind backed off was like paddling in concrete and I noticed that my speed was really slow. I'd guess we had current around 2 to 2.5 mph which doesn't sound like much but it is.

CR - my wife has vid of me paddling past photo point at the Hatchery and it looks like I am on a bungee cord.   Drop down the wave face and make forward motion, paddling like a banshee on the reverse side and I still start getting getting dragged back to Swell City.  Almost like what I would imagine a good standing wave to be like.   

We are having the occasional decent day up here in Seattle, wish I could get down to the Hood more often.

Bruce in Issaquah

[covesurfer]

Hey BB! Looking forward to seeing you down here soon! That is exactly how it felt yesterday, a nice glide followed by what felt like paddling as hard as you could just to get forward progress.

PB is right, that current is variable depending on where you're paddling in the river. Over by the Hatchery, I would not be surprised if it was more than 4 knots. 

Between the heavy 5 mil suit and paddling as hard as I had to yesterday, I have become aware of some new muscles in my neck. There's a little breeze already so I'm thinking a downwinder will help work out the kinks.

[covesurfer]

Went for two weekend downwind runs from Viento. Saturday, Mark and I messed around with roof racks for half an hour so we could fit my Glide and his Huki ski on his aging truck for the shuttle. It was a marginal downwind day, especially with the current running stronger and stronger. It was just the two of us in 25 mph to 5 mph winds. I ended up getting great glides for the first 15 minutes, then fought my way through the current for the next half an hour in the hopes that the wind would fill back in.

It was another exercise in feeling like my wonderful KeNalu was stirring a big batch of concrete. I finally gave in and ran for the Oregon shore, caught the back eddy and increased my speed back up to 5.5 to 6 mph. My 1.5 mil top felt like a straight jacket. At the end, we both agreed it was a 'good workout' but we weren't raving about the downwind conditions. Time was 1:41 which is not terrible, especially with so much current. On the ride back up to get the truck, the wind came up and it was easily gusting 30 to 35. We both joked about a second run but it was already 430 and neither of us really wanted to pick up our paddles again. One of those days.

Sunday looked pretty weak in the morning. Lots of storm clouds in the west and some showers. Wind was a steady 10 to 15. Karen was up for a run, no matter what, and we agreed that we'd go even if it was just a paddle with a little tailwind rather than a real downwinder. I decided I'd probably ride my Jav instead of the Glide and make it a workout paddle. After the straightjacket feel of my 1.5 mil top on Saturday, I took a loose fitting kayaking top that my wife got me for my birthday and my farmer john.

1:30 and the wind was getting really gusty and I chickened out of taking the Jav. Good thing. When I got to Viento to meet Karen, it was blowing 25 to 30 with some higher gusts. Because it had just come up, the swell was really short period and not real organized. In the parking lot, Jan, wearing only a shirt and board shorts had showed up with his F16 and was going to join us.

Got going and had really great wind and ok swell for the first half of the run. Loved the loose fitting top, much less fatiguing than tight fitting neoprene. Jan is an excellent paddler and he was flying on the F 16. Karen was riding a Javelin team board that weighed around 14 lbs and she is one of the best paddlers anywhere. It was her first downwinder of the season and she spent the first few minutes warming up. For a short while, I thought maybe I'd gotten faster over the winter. Ha ha.

I spent the remainder of the run chasing Karen and Jan. All was as it should be! A few times, they stopped and waited politely for me and, fortunately, I wasn't very far back. Each time they waited, I was thinking, ok, I can do this, they won't get a gap this time! Then we'd take off and I would get gapped again! I love chasing faster paddlers, it is how you improve. All in all, it was a great run and we finished with a time of around 1:36. Shot a short vid which shows the fun but short glides that could be linked up. Plenty of current now and for the foreseeable future for Viento runs.

[JP4]

Nice Covesurfer!

[headmount]

Distance?

[covesurfer]

7.79 miles

Garmin data - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/301484537

If you click 'previous' or 'next' up at the top right, it takes you to the next activity by that user. I think the 19+ mph spike for 'maximum speed' is an error.

[LaPerouseBay]

Wow, love that garmin connect.  It's improved a lot over the years.

I like the 'player' feature. 

And the map is easy to zoom in or out, very nice.

So the river is running against you, with the wind pushing you?  Nice. 

I'll mention it to my grumpy friends when they moan about 'sticky' water.  Personally, I like the effect of current on swell riding.   

 

[covesurfer]

Agree, LPB, Garmin is pretty cool these days.

Typically, we do our runs from west to east, going against the current. Spring and early Summer it's running pretty good. We've also done some runs with the current when the wind switches direction. The Gorge is either west wind, east wind or glass it seems.

I'm noticing more people taking flatwater race boards on downwinders here. They pay a price when it's windy and the waves are good but they get a nice advantage if the wind backs off. I'm wanting to use my Javelin for downwinding but I keep chickening out.

[LaPerouseBay]

I remember when they were developing the Javelin years back.  Jeremy had a prototype.  He was doing big, stormy, windy malikos on it.   

You can do it, just go for it. 

Let me know if you find a way to remove the elevation from the garmin connect chart.  Mine is way off with or without the adjustment.  I'd like to eliminate it.