7.5 Mini Gorge, class IV A fine interlude in a decorated lava canyon with fun rapids. You can sneak the worst part of this rapid by carrying over rocks on the left. Big Boulder Bar at a higher flow than in the sequence above, and from the other side of the creek. The most interesting lava formations along Deer Creek are here. Totally excellent small camp on left.
Some current goes underneath a huge lava rock on the right, making it difficult to eddy right.
In past years one could swim under that rock to set up safety, but this is no longer possible because of logs. The logs are gone and this falls is now runnable at low flows. If a logjam occurs again, the normal action is to portage on the right. Some people prefer to line their boats along steep rocks on the left, and actually the eddy on the left is easier to catch at most flows. Pass just to the right of a big rock, enter a constriction on the left, execute an S turn, and exit over a drop that is hard to see from above.