Return to Bosque Seco Lalo Loor

16 Octubre 2020

        Finally, we reached our last long day. We were hiking out to Lalo Loor to check our dry forest cameras. Mosies and I would take the far tree while Shawn, Ryan, and Nicolas would tackle the lower two trees. While this seemed like a perfect plan, things rarely ever go to plan. For one, we took the long trail up, and by the time I realized this, it was too late. This trail added quite a bit of travel time, though it was cool to take in new sights that I hadn't seen before. 

View of the ocean in the distance

        For two, when we finally made our way up to the tree and got the climbing line in place it started to pour. I got nervous about climbing back down in the downpour and not wanting the rope to get soaked (a wet rope can be dangerous to descend on), we pulled it back in. Then we waited.

        And waited...

        Finally, after about an hour, it became more of a trickle which I felt comfortable enough to climb in. Just as we were getting the rope out and ready, Nicolas approached us. He asked if we had a fishing reel handy because the line in DF02 had gotten horribly tangled and they wanted to make a new line. Unfortunately, we did not. It never feels good to send someone away with just an apologetic smile, but sometimes that is all you have to offer. We finished DF01 with no further issue, though it was a bummer it was such a rainy day because I had all but promised Mosies that the view from this tree was incredible. On a clear day, you can perfectly see the ocean. It's breathtaking. But, the visibility today was severely reduced.

The station almost looks ominous in the clouds

        After wrapping up, we hiked down to meet the other team. They had just finished as we approached. The three of them had some issues untangling the line, but with a lot of determination, they feed it. Once in the tree, Shawn redirected the line so that we wouldn't endure the same frustrations next time. However, there was still one more tree to finish and Ryan needed to submit a grant by 5 pm (it was already almost 3). We sent him off to the Bosque Seco Lalo Loor field station so he could utilize the wi-fi that was available. He took of jogging with a heavy bag on his back and a clear goal in mind. Shawn joined him soon after to aid in this endeavor (spoiler alert, the reserve made it to the next stage of the grant, here's hoping they are awarded the money!).

        The rest of us quickly hiked to the final tree. I had forgotten how short the last tree was, because climbing it was a cinch. I got up quickly, sent the gear down, and admired the hawk that was watching me with a skeptical gaze. Occasionally it screeched at me, but mostly it kept its gaze laser-focused to ensure I wasn't up to any 'funny business'. Mosies kept joking that I needed to watch out because it was probably going to swoop down and grab me. 

The hawk in question. Photo credit: Nicolas Betancourt

        Once I was back on the ground, this sense of satisfaction washed over me. In just a week, we had completed the majority of the trees! That's incredible! Especially since Ryan and Nicolas would be leaving soon. It gave me assurance that we would finish the rest of the trees before we left (something I'd been concerned about when we started). On the way back, we grabbed a few drinks from a local tienda to celebrate our achievements. Beyond that, I had messaged Becca via satellite phone earlier in the day gauging her interest in returning to help in January, and she said yes! So much to celebrate tonight!

The days continue to get longer

14 & 15 Octubre 

        Today we planned to head back onto the three forests trail after hitting the last cloud forest tree on the Jama-Coaque 'circuit'. As we approached the cloud forest tree (Friday the 13th), we could hear howlers. With a quick search, we could see them hanging out in the tree! For a moment I had a brief thought, 'are they going to try and challenge me for space in this beautiful tree? Should we wait?' but just as we were setting our gear down, the howlers were already moving into the next tree. 

Starting the climb up. Photo credit: Nicolas Betancourt

        While I was in the tree, changing the batteries and SD cards, the howlers were still close by - watching me. It was surreal to be eye-level with these primates. I felt like they were judging my strange climbing techniques and lacking a tail to help me climb. Nevertheless, they did not disturb me. Rather, they were audience to my slow work as I pulled the rope up and down, and was a bit distracted by their presence as well as some of the reserve staff walking by and laughing in amusement at my location.

Howler watching my work

        The next tree was a long hike out. In essence, we were 'leap-frogging' the trees with Shawn and Ryan. They stopped by the first tree on the trail, while we switched to the next one out to split the workload. We all met up at the point we named 'Satan's Peak', and for the first time, we had walkie-talkies to communicate back and forth. I gotta say, communicating over a walkie-talkie on a trail makes me feel so professional, like a member of the NPS. And it gave an opportunity to make jokes during check-in, and rib each other about which team was 'better'. 

        The next tree ('Destiny') went smoothly - surprisingly. Moises was up and back down in enough time for Nicolas to get another practice climb in. The first two times I visited this tree with Becca, we had crossed paths with a local and his horse, so I'd almost expected another encounter, but none this time. 

Nicolas up in the tree

        With the tree done, we began our hike back to meet with Shawn and Ryan. However, just as we were about to turn on a different trail, we saw some howlers and capuchins moving around in the same patch of bamboo. It was fascinating to see the two of them occupy the same space, unbothered by the other species. We took a few moments to watch them all in awe before continuing our hike.

        Once we finally caught up with Shawn and Ryan, we were lead on a new trail back following some property lines. Supposedly, this path would be shorter and easier. I'm not convived if it was based on how late we arrived back at the bamboo house. But, regardless, we made it back.

        Thursday was the day I had been dreading the most. It was the return to Hell's Hill. Once Moises and I were through the gates and at the base, I took a moment to prepare myself, and then we began to ascend. The hike up was as brutal as I remember - endless switching up and back a massive, grassy hill with ticks lurking in every blade. To make matters worse, I heard the other team call from the opposite ridgeline to say that the camera station from AG03 had been stolen. Dang.

        At the first tree of the day, I was starting to think I was cursed for the day. When we arrived at the tree, the yellow line was snapped where I had tied it off. Just as I was starting to dread the thought of having to hike back up again with the Big Shot, we found the end! With a bit of creativity (a few sticks, and an extendible hook) we retrieved the yellow string and Moises made it up to the top of the tree. Unfortunatley, when Moises reached the top, it turned out the camera hadn't been turned on. I was momentarily heartbroken, but there was nothing I could do about it so we just replaced the batteries and moved on. 

        The next tree also had some howlers hanging out when we arrived. Unlike the day before, they fled when we approached the area. When I climbed up, I discovered that this camera also was off. Again, that sense of defeat was tangible (turns out when maintenance was done last time it poured on the team while they were at these trees and there was some miscommunication - which is completely understandable), but, again, nothing I could do. Like the popular motto, we 'kept calm, and carried on'. On the return, we took the time to appreciate the view. All the mud up in the cloud forest provided a great opportunity to look for tracks. I could see what looked like Red Brocket Deer, opossum, racoon, and cat tracks. Unfortunatley, we also noted some footprints that weren't our own. 

Along the trail

        The most frustrating factor of the day was the clear increase in illegal activity on these protected properies. The clay pit by the last tree appeared to be dug out, likely by poachers to trap animals, and the other tree Ryan, Shawn, and Nicolas went to had clear chainsaw marks on it so their station had to be moved. Later that night, once we were back at the bamboo house, we could hear gunshots in the distance. It served as a reminder of the financial strain Covid-19 is having on these smaller communities and the importance of providing improved socioeconomic opportunities is for conservation (like Third Millenium Alliance is doing and working to expand). More than that, it served to further fuel my passion for working to raise awareness of these situations that people are so often unaware of. Everyone knows of the Amazon, but very few people know of the issues in Western Ecuador. Hopefully with the work Third Millenium Alliance does, this will change and we can continue to protect these forests through local empowerment and stuardship. 

15 Octubre 2020 - Moises

        Desde el 10 de octubre hasta el 14 lo hice increíblemente bien. Éramos Nico, Jackie y yo hablamos, trabajamos, reímos y vimos muchos paisajes increíbles, en algunos hasta pudimos observar el océano. 

View of the ocean from a tree. Photo credit: Nicolas Betancourt

        Fue un trabajo muy duro, subir tantas cuestas empinadas y tantas caídas en el lodo. Pero este Jueves si que fue el ¡Día más duro! Nuevamente, Jackie y yo nos dirigimos a otra propiedad. 

        Al empezar a subir lo hicimos muy despacio, porque es muy empinado, pero eso cambió hasta que me di cuenta de que mi brazo estaba lleno de 300 garrapatas así que decidí decirle a Jackie que subiría en línea recta y la esperaría arriba, entonces empecé a trepar con todas mis fuerzas y muy, muy rápido hasta que sentí que estaba lejos de esas garrapatas. 

Hiking through the tick infested grass

        Cuando llegé a la cima, la caminata fue muy tranquila y cuando llegué al último árbol me senté mientras Jackie hacía el trabajar. Fue un momento tan especial porque no hubo ruido de ningún tipo, me sentí tan tranquilo después de haber agotado todas mis energías al subir esa cuesta tan empinada y llena de garrapatas. Al bajar también lo hicimos muy rápido, pero con varias caídas. Lo llamo el ¡Día más Difícil! porque fue el único día que me terminé toda mi agua