Author Topic: The Gorge  (Read 27177 times)

Dwight (DW)

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 4780
    • View Profile
    • supSURFmachines
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #60 on: July 26, 2022, 08:46:51 AM »
Now that the wind has gone away, can anyone recommend some fun things to do?

We have E-bikes, but cannot do trails that younger people charge. Jacky crashes way too often. We’ve done the HR to Mosier trail twice. Kickitat once.

Todays plan his to hit the Alpine slide, but it might be closed. Web site suggests closure due to heat. Seems ridiculous to us.


808sup

  • Sunset Status
  • ****
  • Posts: 491
    • View Profile
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #61 on: July 26, 2022, 09:03:58 AM »
I’ve only been to HR once Dwight so not as familiar as others here. While we were there we went to mount hood to see the sights. Didn’t realize that it was a mountain biking area in the off season. Looked like a lot of trails and of course the beautiful views too. Sounds like you are having a wonderful trip.  8)

flkiter

  • Sunset Status
  • ****
  • Posts: 321
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #62 on: July 26, 2022, 09:31:41 AM »
We're going to go do dock starts and then if the wind comes up, hit viento or event site

Deep Sea

  • Waikiki Status
  • *
  • Posts: 22
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #63 on: July 26, 2022, 09:36:58 AM »
Check out the Cloud Cap Inn, go hiking above treeline and enjoy the cooler weather. Afterwards head down to the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort for food and beverage. It's a nice contrast from the Gorge landscape and a great getaway from the triple digit heat!
SIC 14' V1 Bullet, Flying Dutchman, QB Ona Ava, Axis Foils, & Goya Sails.

Thatspec

  • Sunset Status
  • ****
  • Posts: 376
    • View Profile
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #64 on: July 26, 2022, 10:32:58 AM »
This is an unusually long hot spell for July and it's not even blowing at the coast, fogged in. Logic dictates somewhere in between must be super windy, probably Jones beach (Clatskanie Oregon), just East of Astoria along the Columbia. Three hour drive but if it's on it will blow until dark.

bigmtn

  • Rincon Status
  • ***
  • Posts: 191
    • View Profile
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #65 on: July 26, 2022, 12:46:36 PM »
Multnomah falls and surrounding falls and hikes
Go snow skiing up at Timberline, or just take the chair up and watch others ski in july
white water rafting (white river or deschutes)
myriad of hikes nearby
Mtn biking
eat more tacos
golf
There are plenty of things to do when there isn't any wind... just a question of how far do you want to drive

Admin

  • Administrator
  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 6443
    • View Profile
    • StandUpZone
    • Email
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #66 on: July 26, 2022, 03:39:53 PM »
Hi Dwight,

Hike Tamanawas Falls.  It will be cool up there and you can hike behind the falls.  It is amazing.  Ride your bikes up on 8 Mile loop or similar.  There are tons of very easy trails starting there.  It is gorgeous and cool.  https://www.trailforks.com/trails/eightmile-loop-trail-496/

Foamranger

  • Waikiki Status
  • *
  • Posts: 10
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #67 on: July 26, 2022, 04:30:39 PM »
Found a fun skatepark in HR this morning, made a little progress on dockstarts yesterday. Past two days scored very light wind winging sessions in the late afternoon-lots of pumping but plenty of foil time and a good challenge. The u-pick cherry orchards near Mosier were great. Working on a cold watermelon now then off to search for thermals, staying busy

Admin

  • Administrator
  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 6443
    • View Profile
    • StandUpZone
    • Email
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #68 on: August 18, 2022, 03:31:21 PM »
This kid is going big now. He was already unusually good at ripping surface transitions a few years ago but he has gone next level now. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whw3Nuw2jlg

radair

  • Malibu Status
  • **
  • Posts: 70
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #69 on: September 22, 2022, 08:22:14 AM »
Thank you for this thread. I’m planning to go to the gorge next year and am wondering the best time of year to be there - most consistent wind, air & water temps, crowds, etc?

Also interested in van camping spots, nearby BLM land. Feel free to DM me for anything not appropriate to post publicly. Thanks!

radair

  • Malibu Status
  • **
  • Posts: 70
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #70 on: October 05, 2022, 04:51:48 PM »
Damn, just call me the thread killer. I was really hoping to gain some Gorge intel...

Dwight (DW)

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 4780
    • View Profile
    • supSURFmachines
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #71 on: October 05, 2022, 05:08:52 PM »
OK, I’ll give my impressions from 2022.

July very windy. Weekends super crowded. Avoided weekends riding in HR. Also, events every weekend in July, it seemed like….

My buddy lived in his van. Camped free most nights. Seems very free and easy about where you can just park and sleep.

It was cool first week in July, then I only wore wetsuit top the whole month. Not cold at all, unless you fall a lot. It was weird to see locals in full wetsuits to this Floridian. I’m the one who expected to be cold, but wasn’t.

PonoBill

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 25859
    • View Profile
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #72 on: October 05, 2022, 05:47:39 PM »
It's an endless topic, the Gorge is such a rich area in terms of things to do, facilities, weather, etc. If you plan to stay low-stress, you probably want to make some arrangements to camp. There are endless national forests and state land surrounding Hood River but you'll be traveling every day to get to the water and get back at night. There are several campgrounds that offer good access, and if you plan far enough ahead you can get a reservation. Viento is a pretty nice place to stay except for the occasional train noise. Some folks park a van or camper on the street and just sleep there. Not the most comfortable way to van camp, but people do it.

July is the prime month for wind. June and August can be equally good, but it's variable. Some years we have great wind well into October, but you can't plan on it.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

covesurfer

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1936
    • View Profile
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #73 on: October 07, 2022, 04:45:47 PM »

Wind and temperatures vary tremendously from year to year. Seemingly more so with changing climate. This year, we had a very late start to summer, with near daily rain up until June 21. Water temps were only in the 40's for early June, but it warmed into the 50's by the end of the month and up around 70 by mid July. River current is dependent on how the dams are operated and this year, we had a big snowpack on Mt Hood and an extended period of very strong current. That helped to keep water temps down too.

The river current can be a huge factor in your experience and especially with cold water temps, can increase the potential for a bad outcome if things go sideways. A good wetsuit, knowledge of where you are entering and exiting and what the local hazards are can't be overstated. You can get in trouble anytime but when the water is below 60 degrees and the current is over 300,000 cfs at the dams, it shouldn't be trifled with. Talk to someone that knows the river before you plan your adventure. Find out where the barges go, where the channel markers are, where the gill nets are likely to be found and have a river plan. This holds whether you're downwind paddling, foiling, kiting, winging or windsurfing. Even going SUP paddling on a calm day requires a plan, especially when the current is running high early in the summer. Typically, by mid July, the current has diminished substantially and the water is warming up toward it's high temp of around 70, plus or minus a degree or two.

As others have mentioned, July is the most reliable month for west wind, in terms of consistency and strength. August and June can be good too but you're likely to see more hot, windless days in August than July. A year ago, we had a week of extremely high temps that broke records in June for around a week or ten days. It was over 110 degrees in the Gorge for days and was the hottest June ever recorded. You can look it up on line for all the detail. It was very strange, especially contrasted with this year's weather with cold and wet, right up until the solstice date. Point here is that July is generally the most consistent month for west wind. Heat waves usually occur in late summer and not in June but lately, I guess all bets are off on that...

After early September, crowds diminish but a good west wind day in early September will still pack the central Gorge (around Hood River). As the month progresses, westerly wind days get much more infrequent typically, although you can get good easterlies if you are willing to go west of Viento State Park. East winds tend to be more difficult to figure out than westerlies and can do some strange things, like die suddenly or only blow in narrow bands along the river with big dead spots. Also, the wind is blowing with the current on easterlies, so depending on what sport you're doing, that can be a factor if you are trying to stay in one spot. It's less of an issue if you're doing downwinders but the swell is smaller on east winds without the current opposing the wind direction.

A last thing to mention is the Milfoil. No, it's not a hi tech hydro-wing. It's a weed, and it seems to be starting to get really pervasive and difficult to deal with. It's thick and grows where there is less current and in shallower waters. The area off of Stevenson is choked with it currently, and yesterday I watched a woman get stuck trying to sail into the shore on a windsurfer. It took about an hour to get her freed up and her gear dragged in, from about 25 yards off of the shoreline. Fortunately, there was someone with a SUP that went out and helped her or she would have really had a bad day. I didn't see any until late June, and then little coves that were great rest stops on a long downwinder started to become traps. The stuff is really a pain for foilers trying to get in or out of the water after late August. It seems to be expanding as far as where it's growing and I see it now in almost all slack water areas. There are also clumps of it floating in the river, big enough to stop a foil or a ski or an OC1. I started noticing the floating clumps of the stuff as early as July this year. So, it's another hazard and it did not used to be here.

Just covered a few things here. It's an incredible place for any water sports person to visit and chances are that once you get a good week here, you'll keep coming back for more. There's a lot to learn about as it's a unique environment but it is really fantastic too.

radair

  • Malibu Status
  • **
  • Posts: 70
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: The Gorge
« Reply #74 on: October 19, 2022, 02:19:45 PM »
Excellent info, thanks

 


* Recent Posts

post Re: GPT 5, Sam Altman, What's coming
[Random]
PonoBill
March 17, 2024, 05:30:44 PM
post Re: 2024 North Mode Pro wings:
[Classifieds]
cnski
March 17, 2024, 05:09:04 PM
post Re: HOT Chicks on Stand Up Paddle Boards!
[SUP General]
burchas
March 17, 2024, 08:50:00 AM
post Re: HOT Chicks on Stand Up Paddle Boards!
[SUP General]
Night Wing
March 16, 2024, 07:02:05 PM
post Re: HOT Chicks on Stand Up Paddle Boards!
[SUP General]
blueplanetsurf
March 16, 2024, 03:28:57 PM
post Re: GPT 5, Sam Altman, What's coming
[Random]
LaPerouseBay
March 14, 2024, 12:38:42 PM
post Re: GPT 5, Sam Altman, What's coming
[Random]
LaPerouseBay
March 13, 2024, 07:59:28 PM
post Re: FS - Ocean Rodeo Glide A-Series Wings (3m/ 4m / 5m), USA
[Classifieds]
StellaBlu
March 12, 2024, 07:27:21 AM
post FS - Kalama Barracuda
[Classifieds]
VB_Foil
March 11, 2024, 05:43:58 PM
post Re: Vision Pro
[Random]
Bean
March 11, 2024, 03:46:42 PM
post Re: Vision Pro
[Random]
PonoBill
March 09, 2024, 11:06:32 AM
post Happy International Women's Day, lady zoners!
[General Discussion]
LaPerouseBay
March 08, 2024, 07:28:47 PM
post Re: Vision Pro
[Random]
Admin
March 08, 2024, 04:45:53 AM
post Re: Vision Pro
[Random]
PonoBill
March 06, 2024, 11:00:24 PM
post Re: Vision Pro
[Random]
Admin
March 06, 2024, 10:15:55 AM
SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal