Thursday, February 10, 2011

Get Out There and Enjoy Some Sun.

Got in the water yesterday for an hour. Surf was nothing special.  Well, in July, it would have been fantastic.  Head high, clean-ish, lumpy, heavy, hollow, fast lefts.  But compared to the past few week, it was good exercise.  Nice to get out there and get some sunshine.  That is my mantra this week.  Get every last bit on sun that I can. Sneak an hour here or there.  An early morning stroll, a lunch time escape, or a late day jaunt.  Just don't spend it inside if you have a choice.  Things are gonna change.  After we got out of the water yesterday, my friend actually said, "I miss the rain."  Not for long buddy, not for long.

So, what can you do over the next few days?

Surf came up a bit this morning and is running with 6-8' faces on the open coast.  Winds have turned more off shore and are generally coming from a north easterly direction.  Winds are blowing out of the bay this morning pretty strongly, and that suggest some hollow beach break is to be had.  Tides are moderate today.  Low tide is around 9:45 at 1.5 feet and high tide will be 2.8 feet at about 4:15.  Interestingly, the following low tide will be two hours later at 2.7 feet.  Barely a shift.  So, if it is breaking good at 2PM, it will probably stay that way until sunset.  Get out there today if you can.  We have that extra hour of late day sunlight as compared to the solstice.  The surf should drop Friday and again on Saturday.  Winds lighten up a bit, but stay off shore.  A new swell of decent size arrives on Sunday.  Late in the day Sunday or early Monday, the wind should start pulling strong out of the south and shut down the surf scene for next week.  Get some before it is victory at sea.

A little warmer out there today.  Better tomorrow.  Downright toasty by mid day Saturday.  Highs on the coast near 70 and hitting mid 50s in Tahoe.  Solid freeze happening overnight above 7000 feet.  You know what that means.  Wax up those skis, it is time for a corn harvest.  Should be a real nice couple of days, as the snow progressively softens on south, west and some east slopes.  There may even be some wintery stuff hidden in the shadows that loosens up a bit; search with care.  With each day getting warmer, we should see some ideal corn cycles happening through Saturday.  Start on the groomed and follow that sun around the hill as it softens up.  Or head out for a backcountry trip before the danger goes way up over the next few weeks.  Work your way around the aspects to make the most of the tour.  Sunday looks to be a bit cooler, with winds coming in, so perhaps it will be a good morning to rail some groomers and then head home.  But of course, the big news is starting around next Wednesday, by which time we should a return to deep soft conditions.

Do you like to ride fast and smooth mountain bike trails?  How about dry?  Well, you have a few more days to get out there before the rain comes.  The single track should be riding pretty good with the combined effect of a month of heavy rain, followed by warm drying air.  The hills are lush right now, so Wilder is looking green and beautiful.  You have until next Tuesday to get out there and ride the trails dry.  Then it will be mud season.  If you do head out when it is wet, try to avoid creating deep ruts.  As the next 21 days progress, the ground will slowly reach water capacity again, like it did in December.  The streams will start gushing and the puddles will grow.  Ride where the earth is tacky, but not saturated to maintain the best riding conditions.  Better yet, get your ride on during the next few days of great sun, and spend next week attending to your taxes.

Get out for a hike, a walk, a stroll.  Visit a farm, pick some fruit,  watch the chickens.  Clean up the yard, mow the lawn, clean the gutters.  Tend the garden, turn the soil, thin the sage bush.  Hell, head to the beach and work on that tan.  It is not quite, Build-an-Ark weather coming our way, but you get the point.  It is going to get cloudy, dreary and wet.  Do what it takes to get out there and absorb some sun rays.  Soon, none of us will be able to claim we miss the rain.

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