Hood, E. Fork

If you run bridge to bridge there are currently two logs to portage. If you put in at the trailhead you miss one, and if you takeout at the first pullout on the right above the takeout bridge, you will miss the other log. It is worth doing. Scout the takeout though, because you have to beat through a thicket and it sucks to do it with a boat when you don't know if you're in the right place.

The first half of the run is more technical and steeper. It is continuous class IV within 1/4 mile of the launch. If you blow one move you better make the next one! The whole thing is read-and-runnable for suitably skilled boaters. Lost boats go a long way even at low water. There is not a single pool but there are eddies. There's more brush/alders on the 2nd half of the run but it's all currently passable. Locals tell me that the rocks and wood shift every year. Low water is a good option for a first run. Apparently some of the holes are wicked at high water.

Usually not runnable in July! We had a late melt this year. The East Fork runs later on high snowmelt, the West Fork has a lower and smaller snowfield and runs more from rainfall. The Tucker gauge shows both forks combined and does not tell you which fork has the water.