Amazing Gorge Trip by the Numbers

Amazing Gorge Trip by the Numbers
by Alex Koutzoukis, July 6th 2010

Just got back from an epic windsurf trip to the Columbia Gorge with my friend Dan Cole. We also met up with Spencer and Debi Thompson, and Larry Caulkett who rented a house in Hood River. We lived out of the back of Dan’s Toyota Tundra for 2 weeks, camping up and down the river depending on where the wind was at. Basically, the Gorge is a mecca for outdoor sports- Windsurfing, Mountain Biking, Whitewater, Skiing, etc… I’d like to spend a full summer there someday. Here’s my breakdown by the numbers:

14.5 hours from Pasadena Trader Joes to Hood River
10 Days in the Gorge
9 Days of Sailing the Gorge
2 Days at Sherman Island (The Delta)
2 Sessions at Sherman Island
18 Sessions at different sites around the Gorge, lasting at least 2 hours each
0 Kitesurfing Sessions even though I brought gear up for light wind days
2 Tanks of Gas in Dan’s Toyota Tundra while at The Gorge
0 Dollars spent on Hotels and Camping (Who needs a hotel or campground when you have the back of a full-size Toyota Tundra parked along the river?)

1 Mountain Bike Ride at Post Canyon (AMAZING!!!)
1 Riverboard Session at Husum Falls on the White Salmon

50+ Vulcan Attempts
3 Landed Vulcans (landed my first vulcan at the Hatchery on June 21
after trying them for almost 2 years) [note from Spennie: I saw his first one!]
20+ Forward Loop Attempts
0 Landed Forwards

16 Sessions on my Tabou Pocketwave 85L
2 Sessions on Dan’s Hi Tech Maui Glass 64L
2 Sessions on my Tabou 3S 97L
1 Session on Spencer’s Tabou Rocket Slalom Board
1 Session on Spencer’s Exocet Slalom Board

1 Session on 3.5 (Maryhill blowing high 20’s with 8 mph current)
7 Sessions on 4.0
5 Sessions on 4.5
3 Sessions on 5.0
2 Sessions on 5.8
1 run on Spencer’s 7.1 at Wind Fest
1 Session on Spencer’s 6.2

-Alex Koutzoukis