Lost our first trailer at Equinunk in the January 1998 Catskill freshet. The mountains were chockful of snow when a long warm rain washed the snowpack into the river. We found a farmer who used his tractor to pull the trailer (a 50' mobile home) out of the rver and hauled it away to use as a chicken coop. We bought another trailer for $400 in Wyoming Valley and hauled her up to Equinunk and dropped her on the same spot and put on a $1000 deck. In June 2004 (Remember, 2006 was the "Big One") she was swept away 300 yards downriver against a big sycamore tree at the cliffs in Equinunk. The deck propped itself up against the big sycamore tree like a drive-in theater screen. Our 17' Old Town canoe hung suspended 20' in the air from her chain, no damage. We cut down the canoe, then I took a chainsaw to the deck and cut her up all afternoon. We built a bonfire in the goldenrod field where Equinunk Creek meets the river near the cliffs. Under the eye of eagles, we dismantled the trailer, a 50' mobile home, and burned everything that could be burned. We ended the day with a pile of pink insulation and a pile of copper pipe and electric heaters, as well as the 50' trailer frame. I lost my colllection of Fly Fisherman magazines from Vol 1 thru current. I lost Bushnell Binoculars and a 12 cup Cabelas Stainless Steel Coffee Perculator. We lost our beloved fine mesh stainless steel fire grate that was 3' x 6' over which we had cooked many outdoor breakfasts along the river. That night I took off all my blackened clothes and threw them drunk onto the bonfire. I walked naked back to out trailer site which was just a mound of river rock. I slept in my swimsuit in a two person tent by the river with me wife. It was stifling hot and we pulled our sleep mats onto the grass by the river. We could see the bonfire glowing in the goldenrod field by the Equinunk cliff. The next day a friend came with a torch and diced up the rusted frame of the trailer and he loaded it onto a flatbed for scrap. We cleaned up and went home and that was the end of 20 years at Equinunk. Here's to March Brown hatches in the pool above the cliff. Cheers! Keep fishing brothers!
