After the big rains we had in Oregon this fall, Paul took a few rafts down the East Fork of Hood River and reported big changes. Several rapids were completely different and they seemed to be a lot less enjoyable than in the past. I finally got a chance to get to the Hood and see for myself. I really didn’t know what to expect.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the whole first mile is now completely different; for the better! Where there once was shallow, gravel bars which made rafting at lower flows difficult, there are now clean, fast chutes dropping through fun waves. What a pleasant surprise. Cyclops, the biggest rapid in this stretch, is now smaller but a little bit safer. Unfortunately, the fun ledge at the confluence with the West Fork is completely gone; replaced by a fast chute.

Paul at the confluence with the WF Hood. The rapid in the background on the left used to be a fun ledge

After the confluence with the West Fork the changes are subtle in some spots and more dramatic in others. The ledge below the pipeline is almost completely gone and replaced by a junkie boulder pile. Further down the river has completely shifted channels and now runs around the left side of an island where there used to be a nice rapid along the right.

Paul coming through Island Rapid. The entrance to this one is harder.

Overall, the river seemed easier than in the past. I don’t know if that is an entirely good thing. It will be interesting to see if next winter continues to make changes and what those changes will look like.

Looking upstream at the take-out. The last couple rapids are cleaner than before.

Nice scenery downstream of the take-out