The weather certainly can't figure out which direction it wants to head, or what season it actually is. Mt Bachelor closed a couple weeks ago, but there is still plenty of snow in the high country for backcountry skiing. My roommate Chris and I enjoyed an afternoon of kite-skiing a couple weekends ago. Using his snowmobile we cruised back to the Three Sisters Wilderness boundary and made laps through the open country between Bald Butte and Broken Top. It is a great way to learn the basics of kiting, as you don't have to worry about getting out of the water and standing up on a board/skis. You can certainly cover some distance quickly, and even cruise uphill if the wind allows.
Then the weather changed. Quickly. The next weekend the temperature reached 96 degrees in Bend. The snow started to melt faster than normal. The rivers were raging. And the mountain bike trails began to open quickly. Everyone felt the sunburn as they were unaccustomed to the radical climate change.
This week it has been raining. Many folks are depressed or upset by the rain, but it will do wonders for the trails, keep the fires away for a while, and clean the streets of all the cinder left over from last Winter. The last time we had any precipitation in Bend was about 5 weeks ago when it snowed one day. We certainly need the rain.
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