Well, I got up at 3 AM this morning to head east for some smallmouth bass and walleye fishing in the Columbia River. The forecast was for relatively calm wind and hot temperatures. It was hot but as I drove further east, it got windier and windier. When I got out of the truck about 5 AM, the wind was blowing 10-15 mph; too windy to be kayak fishing on the Columbia.
Back home we go, but all is not lost. It was a beautiful summer morning, still not blazing hot, so grab the mountain bike and off to hit the local trails. I hadn’t ridden the mountain bike for a while because my disc brakes were at the Hayes factory being checked out. I put the brakes back on yesterday and they are working great, better than when they were new, so thanks to Hayes for the great customer service.
Usually, you have to wait for it to warm up around here to go riding, but this time of year you have to get out there in the morning before the sun rises above the trees. This time of year, the hottest part of the day is in the late afternoon/early evening. The big trees keep it cool on the trails.
It’s been very hot and rain free for the past couple weeks. The snow is melting on the local mountain peaks pretty quickly and the glaciers are getting smaller every year.
Some of the vegetation is turning brown with the mid summer heat but there are still a few patches of green and alpine flowers.
Best bet is to hang out in the woods and take advantage of the shade.
Would like to get out and do some fishing, but the trout fishing is slowing a little on the alpine lakes because of the heat. It would be great to get out on the Columbia River for smallmouth and walleye, but it doesn’t look like the wind is going to die down, so probably more bike riding tomorrow. Maybe a road cruise up towards Mt. Hood.