Day 13 –
Tree House Camp
February 12, 2008
Submitted by Pat
Up early for breakfast served in the Cave: Eggs with cheese, chorizo, oatmeal, and fresh fruit. We pack our day packs with enough stuff for a night at the Tree House Camp – no rafting today – and carry them over to the rocks overlooking Zeta Rapid. The idea is to get across the river with gear and then hike up to the Tree House Camp, where we will have the afternoon to swim, sit in the hot tub, rest in our tree house, canoe on the lake, or hike up a hill for an incredible 360 degree view.
When I arrive at the transition area, Aaron and Peter are setting up a fairly complex system of ropes for the Tyrolean Traverse. I am fascinated watching them. Two ropes are connected to anchors embedded in the rock on both sides of the river, about thirty feet above the water, one as the primary and one as a backup if the primary fails. There are several redundant points of failure where the ropes are connected to rock anchors as well. We put on a climbing harness that is cinched really tight, kind of uncomfortable, but I certainly feel secure. Kate goes across first and then I volunteer. I don’t like to wait a long time before doing new and challenging physical activities. I’m much more of a let’s-get-started kind of gal.
Wearing my helmet, life jacket, and hiking clothes, Aaron connects me to all the ropes, then spins me around so I am leaning backward out over the water. Then he tells me to grab the rope and push off. So I do. After bouncing a bit while my weight stabilizes, I figure out the rhythm and coordination needed to hand over hand pull myself on my back with my head pointing toward the opposite cliff. I’m not really scared or anxious – I know I can’t fall – it’s more of a thrill. Although I could have taken my time and looked around, I choose to move my body to the other side so I can use Nancy’s camera to take pictures and videos of her and Don crossing.
Don goes next and he makes it look easy. Nancy looks a little apprehensive but she too goes across without much fuss. Once everyone is across, we throw on our day packs and begin hiking. It starts out as a flat walk next to the river, but after about a half an hour we start to climb. At least there’s a clear and well-trodden trail. Instead of using the old New England White Mountains method of designing trails that go straight up, they design this trail using switchbacks so it’s much easier on the legs. It feels good to walk and stretch my climbing muscles. The day is gorgeous and warm. It feels good to sweat. We gain about 1,200 feet in elevation climbing to the top of the ridge and it takes us two and a half hours to make it to Tree Camp. On the way there are several incredible views of the river so we take lots of pictures.
Tree Camp is the brainchild of Roberto and Eric and consists of a series of dwellings made of wood and bamboo with half the sides open and the only thing holding you in are a couple of wooden railings. We climb up a central staircase to a large tree house where we pick up sleeping bags, mats, and pillows and Aaron points out our huts for the night. Each tree dwelling is built around the trunk of a tree about 20-30 feet off the ground. After everyone has settled in, we go down to the dining area – a large deck built over the marsh next to a lake. Embedded in the deck is another wood fired hot tub, hot and ready for us. We eat a lunch of bread, cheese, fruit, and three bean salad. Aaron calls a 2 hour break and says he will lead a hike up to the ridge around 4 o’clock for those who are interested.
I putter a bit but can’t relax so I take out one of the inflatable canoes and paddle around the lake. No fish in the pond, just insects and some steers grazing along the shore, clean clear water. Nancy sunbathes and Don goes for a massage. So different from the stress of the first trip when there was no time for anything but survival and certainly no place to relax.
At 4:00 pm Nancy, Aaron, Kate, Frank, Barry, Laura and I hike 45 minutes up to Cerro Condor (Condor Ridge) where we are treated to incredible views. It feels great to lie down and soak in the sun for half an hour. We walk down at our own pace and head straight for our bathing suits, a dip in the lake and a hot tub soak. Aaaahhhh… For Happy Hour the guides bring down tuna empanadas – delicious – and then we dress and sit around the fire waiting for dinner.
We have spaghetti for dinner with apple cake for dessert and a chicken and vegetable soup for an appetizer. After dinner I hang around with the group for a while, but find my interest waning so I head up to my tree house to write in my journal. Tomorrow we have the rock climbing and rappelling challenge back at Cave Camp. For me it means reliving the fear I experienced when I was 16 years old while attending a summer Outward Bound course in Ely, Minnesota. It’s my first time rock climbing on belay and I was able to get half way up the cliff before I froze. I remember my muscles shaking as the minutes went by and I couldn’t go up or down and could barely respond to the encouragement of the guides and my teammates. I don’t remember how I finally got my butt up the cliff, but then I had to deal with a 200 foot free fall rappel. That was also a difficult experience because the equipment back then forced me to hold my weight on the line and the rope peeled up my back under my shirt and burned a stripe of skin off my back as I lowered myself down. Nothing I could do but go.
The best part of the night is listening to the frogs doing their calls – two kinds of frogs. They’re very loud when I go to bed around 9:30 pm, but quieted down through the night, though continued to ebb and flow in swells of sound. Absolutely incredible.