Dee to Tucker

How many favorite runs can a boater have? Dee to Tucker on the Hood River is another. Last Sunday found 7 of us paddling down in wonderful sunshine, at 5.0' on the Tucker gauge, estimated to be 1,700 cfs.

We were glad we put in at Dee rather than Iowa Drive. There're some pretty good drops in that first half mile, uncompromised by wood problems these days. Cyclops is a straightforward run after the flood a few years ago. Pipeline was pretty fun. The river isn't quite pushy at this level, but things happen faster than they would at 4.5'.
We did scout the Island Drop and were glad we did. Although the first 3/4 is pretty straightforward, there's a regular golf course of holes down toward the bottom. Most of us caught an eddy on the right and finessed our ways down, but Denny choose to punch a series of holes. Action picks up after Island, but at this level it's easy to sneak down the edge of a couple of the longer rapids.
And to complete the trip, I enjoyed a huckleberry milkshake at the berry stand.