The results of Thursday's race were posted online for a while, but now they're gone again. Apparently the company that was hired to tabulate the results had no end of technical difficulties and the results that were posted were rife with errors. I would like to believe that my result was one of the errors because my name was alarmingly close to the bottom, but I'm afraid it was correct. I did not conquer the world here in the Columbia Gorge.
Strong winds continued yesterday. People who know this area better than I said that the wind we'd had on Wednesday, Thursday, and yesterday was about as strong as it gets in the Gorge. In the morning I did one run from Viento State Park to Hood River, and while I had some fun and got some good rides I felt like I was getting blown all over the place. I spent the rest of the day taking it easy and putting paddling out of my mind for a while.
Today it's still windy but not nearly as much so as the last several days. I took the shuttle back to Viento State Park and was on the water around noon. With the conditions slightly more manageable, I paddled with much more confidence. Where in the last several days I felt unstable and resorted to bracing often, today I was aggressive and paddled hard, always looking for the next wave or bump to ride. One of the things Chris Hipgrave had told me back at the beginning of the week was "always keep paddling," and indeed whenever I've managed to do so this week I've been consistently rewarded. Today I paddled and paddled and kept pace with nearly every other paddler out on the river at that time.
It was also a bit warmer today. Thursday and yesterday were almost chilly, but today felt perfect. There was not a cloud in the sky and the gorge was as beautiful as ever.
When the run was over I didn't feel as though I had a second run in me, but I hadn't quite had enough fun, either. So after going back to the house and having some lunch, I drove over to the Washington side of the river where there is a run of juicy waves known as "Swell City." Swell City is maybe a couple of miles long, and you can surf the run, paddle back upwind along the bank, do another lap, and so on. I did three lengthy laps and one briefer one, and my body had had enough. I wasn't quite as confident in my balance in the bigger conditions, but I was still aggressive and got several good solid runs.
It was the best I've felt in the boat all week. I really needed a day like today.
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