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Trip Update – Life in the Hood

There’s more to Hood River than mountain biking and rafting. Would you believe people come here to windsurf too? And to see the town?

The last few weeks here have been awesome. As we get closer to our departure date (August 31st we’re out of our apartment), I thought it might be good to show what life is about here. First of all, this place is all about the wind. For those that aren’t aware, Kuba’s brother Phil is ranked 8th on the Professional Windsurfing Association’s freestyle world tour (see his website). Hood River in August is legendary for crazy wind, usually funneling from west to east through the Columbia Gorge. All along the gorge there are launch sites to allow people to take advantage of the shifting wind. As a beginner, I’ve been hanging out at the “Event Site” right in town.


I’m starting to get the hang of this thing – finally harnessed in and planning.

But learning the sport has also opened my eyes to how hard it is to do what Kuba and his brothers can do on their boards. For more advanced riders, “the Hatchery” is the best launch near town. It’s on the Washington side of the river, across the toll bridge from town. A much trickier launch and you’re straight into the big wind and swell that the gorge is known for.

This is where the real windsurfers hang out…

Never a dull moment at the Hatchery… Don’t forget about the barges:

Tom ripping along…

Phil testing out a prototype sail:

Another great day in Hood River

Trip Update – Mount St. Helens

Still camera is powered up… Enjoy!

To start the day yesterday Kuba picked up a new mountain bike. Once the deal was done, the four of us loaded ourselves and the bikes into the Safari and drove north west for a couple of hours to the base of Mount St. Helens.

Ape Canyon trailhead was the start of our marathon climb up to the “Plains of Abraham”, a moonscape created by avalanches and mudflows from the volcano.

We followed the ridge next to Upper Muddy River all the way to just south of the "P" in Pumice Plain

About 19 miles there and back, the first 5 miles would bring us up a couple of thousand feet through trees to the plain. This made our 125 km road bike trip to Bobcaygeon earlier this year feel like a Sunday stroll. Once up to the plain, we really got the chance to appreciate the scenery.

From this altitude we could easily see south to Mt. Hood and east to Mt. Adams. And everything in between… Not to mention Mount St. Helens right beside us!

The last half-mile of the ride really was the cherry on top. A single-track bike trail applied like a pinstripe to a ridge with a several hundred foot drop on either side. The porous volcanic rock it’s made of shifts like slush, adding to the excitement.

A short, bouncy video to help demonstrate:

End of the trail – all smiles:

As the sun went down, we got to enjoy the fruits of our labour – a perfect 45 minute downhill ride to the bottom.

Hood River – Post Canyon Mountain biking

Some cool footage from a three days ago. Following Phil down one of the many trails in Post Canyon, a 20 minute ride from our apartment in Hood River.

Flashback – Yellowstone Hike

From August 10th, on the Sky Rim trail in Yellowstone National Park. Elevation: 9100 ft.

Flashback – Almost in Chicago

Some footage from day one…

What to do in Hood River when there’s no wind…

So I’ve picked up windsurfing gear and I got all rigged up this morning to learn the sport… Then we realized that there wasn’t even a breeze.

Here’s what you do in Hood River when there’s no wind!

3 hours of cruising down the glacier fed waters of the hood river on inflatable camping mattresses. Awesome. We started with 1 each. By the end all four of us (Kuba, his brothers Phil and Tom, and I) were scrambling to stay on 1 good mattress and 1 with a fast leak. The others were completely destroyed!

Our route so far. Have a look at the road between Conner, Montana, and Gainesville, Idaho. That took us 6 hours to go 190km… Most incredible road I’ve ever been on.

Finally! A movie! Internet is slow here but I figured we’d start with the most recent first – this is from this afternoon.

There’s lots more to come…

Still rolling west…

We are here

Should be in Hood River this afternoon! Sorry for the delay – plenty of great content to come.