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!