Grizzlies grazing on the banks of the Hood River.

Below the Wright River confluence the character of the Hood River changed. It started feeling like a legitimate river with a significant current. It started to get a bit splashy, so we put the spraydecks on the canoes. This let us keep paddling instead of constantly bailing water out of the boats. It turned out that our packboats were all leaking a bit, so we occasionally had to stop and bail anyway. At one point we spotted a couple grizzlies grazing on the bank. We watched them for about 15 minutes before they spotted us. The younger, lighter colored bear took off along the shore, swam across the ice-cold river, and disappeared over the north bank. The mother (we think) followed shortly after, keeping a close eye on us.

We started paddling with spraydecks, as there were frequent small rapids.