"I spent too many summers camping to not know how to tie a knot," Karen replies and steps over, her own rope looped over her arm. "Here, I'll get it."

She reaches for the end of Kira's rope and ties it into a hitch around the trunk of the tree. "We always used to tie a line," she explains as she pulls off her gloves and lets muscle memory guide her fingers. It's been a long time, but it might as well have been yesterday. "They're good for lots of things when you're roughing it."

She adds her own rope to the end of the first, testing the knot with a strong tug. "OK, we're good."