It's day four of tree climbing (as of the day this is being written). Day one was utterly terrifying. Being me - a try-hard who likes to dive headfirst into work - I decided to skip practice climbs and begin installing cameras...despite having only climbed once before. And we had a late start because we inventoried all of our gear before heading out into the field.
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| All the gear |
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| Gotta get that angle |
Due to the late start, the sun was beginning to go down as I climb. Shawn was up in the canopy to guide me through the climbing process, and we did get our first camera installed (bonus, we even heard Kinkajous yipping on the tree as we left). But I would be lying if I said that descending a tree into what appeared to be the darkness of the abyss didn't put me on edge.
Miles hiked: 2.81
Day two was a huge improvement as far as nerves go. We found a lovely Mata Palo to place the mount on. It was my first day using my lanyard (another set of ropes attached to my harness that allows for side to side movement in the canopy - sometimes off the mainline) and although I was nervous, everything went well. Given how well things went, my nerves were put at ease. Plus, since we climbed during the day, I was able to enjoy the view.
On the hike up, we were scoping out a king vulture nest. Becca did spot one near the suspected site of the nest. This nest may be the only known active king vulture nest in Ecuador, so we are keeping an eye on it.
Miles hiked: 3.45
Day three...you could say it was a day. In total, we hiked nearly 7 miles up a 300 m elevational gradient. For the most part, Becca and I were each carrying bags that weighed about 60 lbs. The location of our tree was along a ridgeline. Regardless of the exhaustion we felt, the view from the point was stunning. No one has hiked the area in a while, so there was some overgrowth along the trail. To me, it looked unreal. Climbing feels less terrifying each time. And at the top, I removed myself from the climbing line once I was attached via my lanyard so Becca could join me in the tree.
As she climbed up to join, a swallow-tailed kite flew eye level not far from me. Any nerves that I had were replaced by awe. Seeing wildlife from this perspective is utterly amazing.
Once Becca was up in the canopy, Shawn made a comment about feeling lonely on the ground. I couldn't resist joking around so I yelled down to him; "you ever hear the one about the two biologists in the tree?"
His response, "no, I haven't".
"That's cause it's above your reach." I think I'm hilarious.
Miles hiked: 6.92
Today, day four, was another day. We found a beautiful tree for the camera - well connected to the surrounding canopy, structurally sound, we were excited about it. I went to grab the Big Shot (a giant slingshot), and it broke as I fired it off. Becca made the trek back to the bamboo house to grab a replacement head for the Big Shot.
When she returned, we replaced the head, went to fire, and that replacement broke, too.
Talk about a Friday the 13th.
Eventually, we replaced the head again back at the bamboo house (with a ridiculous amount of effort, seriously it took all three of us). Fingers crossed this one works.
Miles hiked: 2.88
Total mileage: 16
Canopy Acoustic and Imaging Project (CAIP) stations installed: 3
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