a, Representative time trajectories (120 ms per data point) of telomerase catalysis in reaction buffer containing 50 mM LiCl after transfer into dNTP containing buffer (t = 0). b, Distribution of overall elongation rate in the presence of 50 mM LiCl for all telomerase elongation trajectories (n = 16 traces). c, Distribution of the step sizes of telomerase trajectories in reaction buffer containing 50 mM LiCl (n = 16 traces, 171 steps). d, Representative time trajectories and histograms of the folding dynamics of telomeric repeat ssDNA capable of forming a single GQ, showing simultaneous trap distance (top, 48 ms per data point) and FRET measurements (bottom, donor in green, acceptor in red, 48 ms per data point) for a single tether. e, Step size distribution of folding and unfolding events observed in single GQ tethers (n = 22 tethers, 344 steps). f, Representative time trajectory and histogram of the folding dynamics of telomeric repeat ssDNA capable of forming up to three GQs (48 ms per data point). g, Step size distribution of folding and unfolding events observed in multi GQ tethers (n = 6 tethers, 390 steps).