Hood

One of my new favorite continuous Class III runs. Heard reports that things were too high, approaching IV, but it dropped a bit this week and we found it to be perfect at 5.93ft. Definitely lacks eddies at these flows so you should know what you're doing for nonstop III/III+ wave trains. I had one swim but towards the bottom and am a quick self-rescue so all in all it was gravy.

There is a river wide log at the bottom of the right channel below Tucker Park. Passable at high flows. Scout from the road.

Teresa...glad you posted this...i should have read this in advance.

I can speak on how this feels from the swimming side after two long exhausting swims Friday due to simple mistakes and inexperience. The swims were terrifying, very fast for low levels, and brutal on my entire body. I am very fortunate I had n incredible local guide who managed to find me an eddy after a particularly rough 2nd swim that has bruises up and down my legs, a big toe injury, and plenty of anxiety about getting back in my kayak.

Though I know this isnt a hard stretch for experienced kayakers, I would advise that the speed, lack of swimming outlets, and boulders everywhere makes for a very dangerous swim. Had I been knocked out when I was sent backwards going over a boulder, I would have ended up likely in the accidents page due to the very rough portage areas.

Be safe...

A tragic drowning of a young man after getting caught in a hole at ex-Dam rapid last weekend has the local boating community talking about the actual risks and hazards of this run. It may be class III-IV as long as you are in your boat, but the moment you are not in your boat it seems more like class V. It's extremely fast and rocky with no pools and few slow spots or eddies where a swimmer can get out.

Trip that began upstream of Dee and continued to the mouth with Thomas O'Keefe, Emma Johnson, and Omar Jepperson. Photos from the segement of the trip from Tucker Bridge to the Marina.

John Lechmanik posted this information regarding access on lccc listserv April 23, 2017:

Lower Hood takeout.

For those of you who insist on taking out at the museum please note it is posted 'Museum parking only'. So by parking there you are risking a tow, ticket or at the least offending a local business to kayakers. Please don't. There is a takeout down by the windsurfing shacks that is legal. Or some take out at powerdale. Please use those. Feel free to ask me for details.

Tucker bridge.

The Apple Valley store does not allow ANY parking or river access from their property. This is a change from a year or so ago. Park across the street and access the river there. Limited parking. Some are now putting in at Tucker Park. This means running the last 3 rapids of Dee to Tucker with no real warmup and are a little harder than the rest of the lower Hood IMHO.

Dee put in.

It appears this is no more. I spoke with some paddlers who know the landowner and he does NOT allow river access from his property. There are new signs saying no river acces along with the multiple no tresspassing signs. Paddlers have been cited. This means the only legal access is from Punchbowl park on the west fork. This means missing Cyclops and confluence rapid but not much else.

Please be aware of these changes and try not to offend any other property owners at the access points. Our river access to a great river is dwindling....

I took a beginner down this run and it was quite a challenge. Awkward drops, continuous rapids, a riverwide log partway down, and a scary looking fish trap/ huge hole made this run very intimidating for a beginner. Class III with some Class IV maneuvering recommended.

Access at Tucker Bridge

It was so cool to run this without the dam for the first time. They did a great job both getting rid of the dam and creating a new Class 3 rapid!

There are a few trees in in the Lower Hood right now (11/21/11). Please be careful!

low water trip down the Lower Hood.

Here's the view of the new rapid from shore at 3.3ft (really too low to run this section of river). http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=327731&id=659863101&l=9ae90f3389

We ran the new rapid on 11/2/10 at 4.8 feet. At that level, it's III+ to IV. I swam it, and don't recommend doing it that way. =)

This is the base of Dam Rapid. It pretty much continues just downstream into the rapid which already existed below the dam. You can see the greenish seeded soil on both banks which is where the actual dam stood.

On Oct 25, 2010, the rain had finally allowed us enough water to run the Lower Hood without Powerdale (Copper) Dam to impede our enjoyment.
Three of us, Temira Wagonfeld, Scott Elsworth, and myself put on at Tucker Bridge with the level around 3.85 (it went up to 3.95 during the paddle). This was Temira’s first time down the Hood, and Scott and I had run it many times before, but we were excited not to have a dam to portage this time.
As we approached the “lake” above the dam, we noted that there was a fun III- rapid where the top of the lake had been (we called it “Lake Rapid”). This rapid was partially accessible in the past during high water when the gates on the dam would be opened.
We were amazed at how much progress had been made. With the exception of the water intake building, the entire dam structure itself and fish passage had been removed and replaced with boulders and re-seeded soil.
The horizon line where the dam was looked daunting, but as we approached this new class III rapid (we christened it “Dam Rapid”) we could see that it was a relatively steep gradient with no sharp ledges or big holes and we proceeded down. Read and run was easy enough with plenty of line options; we just avoided the rocks that still stuck out of the water and bounced down the rest.
All told, this may be the most difficult rapid on this section of river, but not by a lot. It felt long and busy, but there did not appear to be any unforeseen problems with it. We did not see any *new* concrete or rebar anywhere (downstream has always had concrete/rebar). The power company did a great job keeping man-made objects out of the channel and keeping the rapid consistent with the rest of the river.

On Oct 25, 2010, the rain had finally allowed us enough water to run the Lower Hood without Powerdale (Copper) Dam to impede our enjoyment.
Three of us, Temira Wagonfeld, Scott Elsworth, and myself put on at Tucker Bridge with the level around 3.85 (it went up to 3.95 during the paddle). This was Temira’s first time down the Hood, and Scott and I had run it many times before, but were excited not to have a dam to portage this time.
As we approached the “lake” above the dam, we noted that there was a fun III- rapid where the top of the lake had been (we called it “Lake Rapid”). This rapid was partially accessible in the past during high water when the gates on the dam would be opened.
We were amazed at how much progress had been made. With the exception of the water intake building, the entire dam structure itself and fish passage had been removed and replaced with boulders and re-seeded soil.
The horizon line where the dam was looked daunting, but as we approached this new class III rapid (we christened it “Dam Rapid”) we could see that it was a relatively steep gradient with no sharp ledges or big holes and we proceeded down. Read and run was easy enough with plenty of line options; we just avoided the rocks that still stuck out of the water and bounced down the rest.
All told, this may be the most difficult rapid on this section of river, but not by a lot. It felt long and busy, but there did not appear to be any unforeseen problems with it. We did not see any *new* concrete or rebar anywhere (downstream has always had concrete/rebar). The power company did a great job keeping man-made objects out of the channel and keeping the rapid consistent with the rest of the river.

Powerdale Dam is out!!! Check out the new rapid where the Powerdale Dam used to be: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080899&id=1033541317&l=c91014397d

Powerdale Dam on the Hood River scheduled for removal in 2010.

Looking downstream towards the mouth of the Hood
River where it joins the Columbia.
The Powerdale Hydroelctric Project owned by
PacifiCorp and licensed as FERC P-2659 is scheduled
for removal in 2010.