All good in the Hood...

It smells like Spring is finally on its way to the Pacific Northwest. Even with the recent rain here in Oregon, the snow has been melting quickly and some of the high Alpine trails are opening up. The wildflowers are just now starting to show their colors on the freshly-thawed peaks.

We had quite the lineup of music for Memorial Weekend: Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, The National, The Breeders, and more. Michael Franti and Spearhead were the headliners on Friday night, with Built to Spill opening up for them. I was hanging out on "cheapskate hill" with Jonas and Anna when, in-between the bands, Franti himself came rolling up to us on a tiny pink cruiser bike. We shook his hand and talked about his movie "I Know I'm Not Alone" which we had seen the previous night. He surveyed the scene, the view, and the weather, then went rolling back towards the stage to start his show. I don't think anyone else on the hill noticed him, even though he is about 6 1/2 feet tall with long dreads...

I went up to Hood River for a few days and, surprisingly, the weather was clear and sunny and warm. The Columbia River is still very cold, but I was really looking forward to enjoying some wind sports and cruising around on the water. The wind didn't cooperate with my plans, but the mountain biking and road riding was a blast. I explored a couple new areas, like Nestor Peak, that I had never ridden before and somehow avoided all the poison oak that is so vibrant and abundant this Spring.

The riding in Bend is very good right now. The trails are cleared to Lower Whoops Trail and you can ride up to Skyliner Snow Park. The rain has packed down all the dust on the trails and conditions are as perfect as they get. I guided a tour for Cogwild Bicycle Tours this weekend, so business is picking up already.

What's been goin' on?

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.