white river glacier ?

[tangled]

I was riding up from the mouth yesterday to do some fishing and get some exercise and the river was like milk - On the way out, I also noticed the sandy was blow as well - like chocolate milk though- what makes the glaciers dump so much this time of year - is it because they have melted so much at this point that what melts now has a lot of suspended particles - I would think the colder weather would do just do just the opposite-

By the way - not a bump, although I did see quite a few fish about - very few people out because of the conditions I assume - take care all

[Carver_OR]

The freezing level is to be at 6000 feet tonight with snow maybe. I bet the river will be cleared up in a day or two. I think I'll go to the lower river.

Pat

[wade]

Tangled,

I recently got a firsthand birdseye look at the glaciers on Mt Hood. Of note was the one feeding the White River. The headwaters of the White consist of a huge valley that is composed of loose ash and other such volcanic debris that are just waiting for a reason to plummet down the hill. Any gust of wind, rock tumbling from above, or deluge of rain will clearly send an unbelievable tonnage of sediment coursing downnhill with nothing to stop it. The magnitude of this erosion cannot be described. I'm not a scientist but I can say with confidence that the recent milky discharge in the White was caused by the rains we had last week. Any time Hood experiences something that will increase the discharge at the headwaters will always result in low visibility downstream. These conditions that come to mind are: Rain, especially after a dryspell; and melting of the glacier, especially in the Spring when there is a lot of snow to melt off and it has been froze up. Times to expect high visibility will be: During a prolonged cold spell; after a prolonged dryspell, other the Spring melt-off.

I hope this helps.

Kevin