Deschutes
12. Tetherow Crossing Park to Lower Bridge
March 17, 2024
Tetherow to Lower Bridge
| Reporter | Austin Bouck |
| Gauge Reading | 420 cfs at Deschutes Below Bend |
| Flow | Medium Flow |
Expected a more shallow rocky experience at the gauge volume, however the sunny days seemed to add much more water from Tumalo creek than usual. The rock coverage and clean line at Odin made the river feel more more like it was sitting in the low 500's.
Fun day, everything remains read and run. No one in the group opted for odin (combination of new paddlers and playboats), but the line looked clean with adequate coverage of the rocks and a friendly hole (see picture).
The tree branch in the rapid a ways after Odin is still in play, but there are a couple alternate routes around the brush to choose from, just requires moving left once you see it.
The more class III- rapids after odin had plenty of flow to cover the rocks and provide a more authentic class III experience with swirly pushy water. The group noted what seemed like the hardest rapid of the run a ways after odin (recognizable from a flat rocky area on river left and obvious channeled whitewater) and I took a picture looking back upstream for paddlers wanting to evaluate the run to reference. The bottom of the rapid has boily water likely to trip up new paddlers.