Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Getting Lost

Euglossa sp. FROM GROUP PROJECT

Ferdilance

GOLDEN ORB SPIDER

The next day we presented our group projects where we did an interpretive dance of our project process having some gorup members be the bees, others the odors, and I was one of the catchers. Lots of laughs.
In the afternoon we went on a hike in the woods to do an exercise called 20 questions. They instructed us to wander into the forest to find a good place to meditate about 20 questions. Bent on finding a good tree to sit in I got a bit too far off trail, only to realize I had no F****** clue where I was. I made it back up to the ridgeline trail in hopes of reuniting with the other trail. Offtrail isn't exactly like the temperate zone as there are giant Golden orb spiders everywhere, vines, snakes, and ants every step. Wandering back down the crest trail i never saw the trailhead for the connecting trail (which i found out later was a 180° right turn which was impossible to find if you didn't know where it was). Not being a good estimator of distance I overshot where I needed to be by a long ways. realizing this a bit too late I realized I was lost in the jungle alone. I began walking back, but still no sign of the trail. Noting the positon of the sun i decided it was best to try to head north and down hill to make it back to camp as the beach faced north and if I headed down I might have a chance of atleast geting to the ocean. Trundling across rotten logs, sliding down steep faces, running into giant spider webs, and bushwacking (wishing I had a machete) I still saw no sign of a trail and realized i had absolutely no idea where i was anymore. With the sun about to set I decided to chance getting bitten by a ferdilance often found along streams in leaf litter (super poisonous snake) and walk down a stream bed, as I new it owuld be the fastest way to the ocean.
After climbing down two ten foot waterfalls I finally got to the Ocean, only to realize I was still on the wrong side of the island. I saw the breakers in front of our camp way way way off to the right. Thinking about swimming i held my camera bag above my head only to be met wit ha head high set wave, which i scrambled away from back up the boulders towards the cliff. Not wanting to risk a longer than expected swim I climbed back up the cliff using a 10-15ft chimney a boulder and the cliff had made, wet shoes, no ropes, probably one of the stupider situations i've been in. finally grabbed onto some over hanging roots and pulled my way up the shear cliff not looking back. On my way back up the hill, I finally hear some voices. FINALLY after 3 hours in the jungle, after the sun had set, a real game of Marco Polo. Relieved, stressed and sitll full of adrenaline me and the search party made it back to camp, just relieved i had made it out alive before it got dark.
This little fuck up of mine not only taught me some valuable lessons, but served as a nice bonding session for the group and made it possible for them to learn through me.
I learned - if your lost just SIT. Carry a compass. A maps not a bad idea either. And try your hardest not to freak out, and really do rely on your friends, because they will find you!

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