Strainer at the top of Railraod Rapids April 24, 2009 page 1 of 1

The tree is about 12" in diameter, and spans almost all of the left channel, just a few yards downstream of the bridge just above Railroad Rapids. It doesn't appear to have many branches on it, so a paddler might pass under it without being caught.

It's fairly visible from water level, as long as you're paying attention.

It's shallow, but there's just a bit of space at the river right end where you could get past it.

The Esopus is very good at eroding its banks. Here's one fairly big tree and a few small ones ready to become river wide strainers in the fairly near future. These are on the infrequently paddled section a couple of miles above the portal.

Just upstream of the portal we spotted a bald eagle flying up the river. This is the first eagle we've seen at the Esopus. Unfortunately, this picture was taken from across the river and the road, with a fairly short lens.