The Gorge and Hood River
Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 12:24 pm
Most of you have been going to the Gorge for years but I figured as a newbie, I’d offer my review of the place.
I’ve been reading and hearing about the Gorge and Hood River since I started windsurfing a year and a half ago, I guess it was inevitable that I would eventually make it down. The plan was for a quick trip to Hood River to pick up some gear for myself and Keener, down on the last ferry Friday night, and back to Victoria on the last ferry Sunday evening. First off, I have to say that despite the customs line up; taking the Coho is far easier (and slightly less expensive) then taking a BC Ferry. Ferry traffic is far more predictable and the Olympic peninsula is far more relaxing than Blaine to Olympia. After the strip search at customs it was a quick two hour jaunt to a rest stop south of Olympia for the night and then another 2.5 hours from there to Hood River in the morning. This place is hot, it immediately reminded me of Kamloops or even Kelowna, and roughly the same cost/distance from Victoria. Hood River is in a super nice location on the side of the hill overlooking the Columbia River, plenty of real estate I was drooling over. There are plenty of neat coffee shops and eateries in HR, reminiscent of Victoria, Tofino or Whistler. On a sunny weekend in August the town is packed and finding parking is harder than finding a kiter not wearing boardshorts over their wettie. All the ‘wind’ shops are within walk-able distance from downtown, and they all have their own distinctive “attitude.” Big Wind’s definitely has the most polished feel to it, you can tell they cater to the ultra-rich American Adventure vacationers that frequent this area (more on that later). Windance is by far the most “core” shop, no frills, mostly disorganized, but crazy good deals, Thai food in the parking lot and the best coffee in town out of a French press next door. In my opinion the shops were larger and better stocked than anything you see on Maui, the prices were also way better (example $299 for NEW 2008/09 Goya 3d wave sails).
Now I only had two days here and only checked out a few spots of which I sailed at two, so my review of the sailing is slightly limited. I had read others sailing logs saying only boardshorts were required so I didn’t bring anything but. I have to admit at first I was a bit concerned after sticking my feet in the water and seeing the majority of other riders were wearing full-suits to shorties, some full decked out including booties and a hood. But wow, the water is damn warm, probably warm than Maui in April, in fact standing on the beach after coming off the water was probably warmer than Maui. It was my first time sailing freshwater (Nitinat doesn’t really count), and woowwweee did it feel nice and refreshing. The wind at the Event site is crazy; all I had brought down with me was a 5.3 as I was picking up a 4.7 and 4.2 in HR. Initially at 1030 am this looked like it was going to be suicide but I rigged it and hit the water anyways. At first it was balls out OP, but then it backed off to perfect 5.3 conditions. After 30 minutes of that it died almost completely. Every 30 minutes or so from noon on it would come back for 15 minutes of 5.3 conditions the completely die again, it did this until I left for Rowena sometime before 4. This was super frustrating and lame, it did nothing to build up the swell, and I was the only one venturing out as everyone else just sat on the lawn hoping for something better laughing at my slog-a-thon. After I met up with Caleb he suggested I head out to Rowena which is generally where he will sail after work, and about a 15 minute drive downwind. Perfect 4.7 at first, the river was like a good windy day at Nitinat minus jellyfish plus barges. After having too much fun for an hour and a half the wind decided to crank up and get stupid. Rowena is packed on the weekend and you are lucky to park remotely close to the beach, far too far for me to walk to rig the 4.2 which would have also still been overpowered. Ah well, after 45 minutes or so in holy crap conditions I called it a day, we set up camp at the nearby state park (nice spot) and headed in to town for dinner at the Pourhouse (good food and prices). After breakfast beside Windance and some shopping in the morning to appease Melodie, we drove to check out some spots but ultimately Rowena seemed the best bet again. Since it was still before noon the parking situation was way better and we parking about as close as you can get to the water. Today the swell was much better; there were ramps pretty much everywhere and on both tacks. Some of the swells were good for a slash or two, but they don’t set up for quite as long as Kook Street or Gordon’s and quickly disappear under your feet. The wind was really up and down; you’d blast two reaches then slog most of your third, wash, rinse, repeat. The swell picked up a notch or two to the point where it got really fun, like a good 4.7 day at Gordo’s, my footgina, now over a month old, was reeling from being pinned into the straps while blasting multiple airs. True to lore, at about 2 pm it went nuclear yet again, cranked up suddenly to 4.2, near 3.7, conditions. The chop flattened out in between the swells making it like the best windy days on the outside at Kook street. Called it quits after a few of the biggest launches I’ve done yet plus a few holy-crap-OP’d yard sales here and there. All and all it was pretty damn fun, comparing it to home, it just sucks how the wind is so variable from one extreme to another, but maybe I have just spent too much time at Nitinat this summer.
13 things about Hood River
1. This place is damn hot, even at night, even with the wind. The car read 28.5C blasting into 30 knot winds.
2. The locals are friendly but I found the American visitors to be mostly rude. I have to think this is because you have a lot of active-lifestyle-type-ridiculously-wealthy-already-rude Americans vacationing here who think they are better than the run-of-the-mill-flat-slob-already-rude Americans. So where you’d normally be just one step below the run-of-the-mill-fat-slob-already-rude Americans now you are actually two castes below. No offence intended.
3. Shop at Windance for the best deals and go next door for the best coffee.
4. Boardshorts or a speedo is all you need, the water is warm and fresh and the wind blows warm like a hair dryer.
5. I love no sales tax in Oregon.
6. Further to points 3 and 5 – be prepared to spend more money than you expected despite crazy deals and no sales tax.
7. The wind here is extremely variable and only moderately predictable, you know it will blow, but where, when and how hard is a lot harder to tell.
8. Be prepared to do a lot more driving then you’d expect. This ain’t Maui, if you want to chase the best wind be prepared to drive 50-100 km a day unless you get the right spot first. The beginner spot at the event site looks great. Save money and skip the event site altogether and go 200 ft down river to the new (free) city park, it’s got a beautiful grass field to rig and sit in and a super wide stepped ramp down the to launch.
9. Don’t slip. A slimy algae that puts KY to shame lines the shore no matter where you go, you really need to be careful entering the water or you’ll end up on your ass with a dent or two in your board and a black bruise ruining both otherwise lily white cheeks.
10. If you think Nitinat is a time warp for old gear then HR is a black hole accessed by a Delorean with Michael J. Fox as your chauffeur. I have never seen so many seat harnesses in my life. Also – what the hell is up with the vintage 80’s full suit, booties and gloves in 28C???!!!???
11. The barges... ahh what can I say about these. They are not as frequent as stuff on the web might suggest, but what freaks you out is the trains that sound like a barge. So here you are blasting around and you crash, and an oncoming train starts to rumble, maybe blows a horn, and you realize you didn’t actively check for barges before you crashed and here it sounds like one is bearing down on your head. In the troughs you can’t see jack, and after a few moments of panic induced boardshort soiling, you realize it’s just another train. As a side note these trains make the campgrounds noisy – but I actually didn’t find that it affected my sleep.
12. You don’t have to shower after a session – I can’t stress how awesome this is. The water even tastes good (not sure if this is recommended).
13. Sail windows stay clear and all your gear feels fresh and clean, like you brought it into the bubble bath with you.
I’ve been reading and hearing about the Gorge and Hood River since I started windsurfing a year and a half ago, I guess it was inevitable that I would eventually make it down. The plan was for a quick trip to Hood River to pick up some gear for myself and Keener, down on the last ferry Friday night, and back to Victoria on the last ferry Sunday evening. First off, I have to say that despite the customs line up; taking the Coho is far easier (and slightly less expensive) then taking a BC Ferry. Ferry traffic is far more predictable and the Olympic peninsula is far more relaxing than Blaine to Olympia. After the strip search at customs it was a quick two hour jaunt to a rest stop south of Olympia for the night and then another 2.5 hours from there to Hood River in the morning. This place is hot, it immediately reminded me of Kamloops or even Kelowna, and roughly the same cost/distance from Victoria. Hood River is in a super nice location on the side of the hill overlooking the Columbia River, plenty of real estate I was drooling over. There are plenty of neat coffee shops and eateries in HR, reminiscent of Victoria, Tofino or Whistler. On a sunny weekend in August the town is packed and finding parking is harder than finding a kiter not wearing boardshorts over their wettie. All the ‘wind’ shops are within walk-able distance from downtown, and they all have their own distinctive “attitude.” Big Wind’s definitely has the most polished feel to it, you can tell they cater to the ultra-rich American Adventure vacationers that frequent this area (more on that later). Windance is by far the most “core” shop, no frills, mostly disorganized, but crazy good deals, Thai food in the parking lot and the best coffee in town out of a French press next door. In my opinion the shops were larger and better stocked than anything you see on Maui, the prices were also way better (example $299 for NEW 2008/09 Goya 3d wave sails).
Now I only had two days here and only checked out a few spots of which I sailed at two, so my review of the sailing is slightly limited. I had read others sailing logs saying only boardshorts were required so I didn’t bring anything but. I have to admit at first I was a bit concerned after sticking my feet in the water and seeing the majority of other riders were wearing full-suits to shorties, some full decked out including booties and a hood. But wow, the water is damn warm, probably warm than Maui in April, in fact standing on the beach after coming off the water was probably warmer than Maui. It was my first time sailing freshwater (Nitinat doesn’t really count), and woowwweee did it feel nice and refreshing. The wind at the Event site is crazy; all I had brought down with me was a 5.3 as I was picking up a 4.7 and 4.2 in HR. Initially at 1030 am this looked like it was going to be suicide but I rigged it and hit the water anyways. At first it was balls out OP, but then it backed off to perfect 5.3 conditions. After 30 minutes of that it died almost completely. Every 30 minutes or so from noon on it would come back for 15 minutes of 5.3 conditions the completely die again, it did this until I left for Rowena sometime before 4. This was super frustrating and lame, it did nothing to build up the swell, and I was the only one venturing out as everyone else just sat on the lawn hoping for something better laughing at my slog-a-thon. After I met up with Caleb he suggested I head out to Rowena which is generally where he will sail after work, and about a 15 minute drive downwind. Perfect 4.7 at first, the river was like a good windy day at Nitinat minus jellyfish plus barges. After having too much fun for an hour and a half the wind decided to crank up and get stupid. Rowena is packed on the weekend and you are lucky to park remotely close to the beach, far too far for me to walk to rig the 4.2 which would have also still been overpowered. Ah well, after 45 minutes or so in holy crap conditions I called it a day, we set up camp at the nearby state park (nice spot) and headed in to town for dinner at the Pourhouse (good food and prices). After breakfast beside Windance and some shopping in the morning to appease Melodie, we drove to check out some spots but ultimately Rowena seemed the best bet again. Since it was still before noon the parking situation was way better and we parking about as close as you can get to the water. Today the swell was much better; there were ramps pretty much everywhere and on both tacks. Some of the swells were good for a slash or two, but they don’t set up for quite as long as Kook Street or Gordon’s and quickly disappear under your feet. The wind was really up and down; you’d blast two reaches then slog most of your third, wash, rinse, repeat. The swell picked up a notch or two to the point where it got really fun, like a good 4.7 day at Gordo’s, my footgina, now over a month old, was reeling from being pinned into the straps while blasting multiple airs. True to lore, at about 2 pm it went nuclear yet again, cranked up suddenly to 4.2, near 3.7, conditions. The chop flattened out in between the swells making it like the best windy days on the outside at Kook street. Called it quits after a few of the biggest launches I’ve done yet plus a few holy-crap-OP’d yard sales here and there. All and all it was pretty damn fun, comparing it to home, it just sucks how the wind is so variable from one extreme to another, but maybe I have just spent too much time at Nitinat this summer.
13 things about Hood River
1. This place is damn hot, even at night, even with the wind. The car read 28.5C blasting into 30 knot winds.
2. The locals are friendly but I found the American visitors to be mostly rude. I have to think this is because you have a lot of active-lifestyle-type-ridiculously-wealthy-already-rude Americans vacationing here who think they are better than the run-of-the-mill-flat-slob-already-rude Americans. So where you’d normally be just one step below the run-of-the-mill-fat-slob-already-rude Americans now you are actually two castes below. No offence intended.
3. Shop at Windance for the best deals and go next door for the best coffee.
4. Boardshorts or a speedo is all you need, the water is warm and fresh and the wind blows warm like a hair dryer.
5. I love no sales tax in Oregon.
6. Further to points 3 and 5 – be prepared to spend more money than you expected despite crazy deals and no sales tax.
7. The wind here is extremely variable and only moderately predictable, you know it will blow, but where, when and how hard is a lot harder to tell.
8. Be prepared to do a lot more driving then you’d expect. This ain’t Maui, if you want to chase the best wind be prepared to drive 50-100 km a day unless you get the right spot first. The beginner spot at the event site looks great. Save money and skip the event site altogether and go 200 ft down river to the new (free) city park, it’s got a beautiful grass field to rig and sit in and a super wide stepped ramp down the to launch.
9. Don’t slip. A slimy algae that puts KY to shame lines the shore no matter where you go, you really need to be careful entering the water or you’ll end up on your ass with a dent or two in your board and a black bruise ruining both otherwise lily white cheeks.
10. If you think Nitinat is a time warp for old gear then HR is a black hole accessed by a Delorean with Michael J. Fox as your chauffeur. I have never seen so many seat harnesses in my life. Also – what the hell is up with the vintage 80’s full suit, booties and gloves in 28C???!!!???
11. The barges... ahh what can I say about these. They are not as frequent as stuff on the web might suggest, but what freaks you out is the trains that sound like a barge. So here you are blasting around and you crash, and an oncoming train starts to rumble, maybe blows a horn, and you realize you didn’t actively check for barges before you crashed and here it sounds like one is bearing down on your head. In the troughs you can’t see jack, and after a few moments of panic induced boardshort soiling, you realize it’s just another train. As a side note these trains make the campgrounds noisy – but I actually didn’t find that it affected my sleep.
12. You don’t have to shower after a session – I can’t stress how awesome this is. The water even tastes good (not sure if this is recommended).
13. Sail windows stay clear and all your gear feels fresh and clean, like you brought it into the bubble bath with you.
I stopped writing mine for the last trip, too much work and not enough feel-good responses, people think u like to rub it in....where in essence all i wanna do is....well, yeah, rub it in 
the trick is to know when to arrive and leave the hatchery for the east.
and yeah, might wanna drink other stuff
!) Bad timing Nanmoo.