End of July at Peacham Bog

Monday July 31, 2023                                                     Most Recent Posts:
Moose River Campground                    Tubing, Moosing, Cook Off & Ponds
Site 20                                           Bemis Brook Trail to Arethusa Falls is Moderate?
St Johnsbury, Vermont

I’ve had the Peacham Bog on my list of things to see all summer long.  After my rainy wash out at the smaller Victory Bog, I waited for a day when no rain was predicted.  That of course does not mean it won’t rain just that they think it won’t.  And of course it rained on the way over and was sprinkling when I got there but I grabbed my raincoat and headed up the nice wooded trail.

In researching what was called the Peacham Bog Loop, I’d read that it was 4.2 miles and also that it was 5.6 miles.  Either was OK with me.  But I’m glad I didn’t know how long it turned out to be or I might not have come.  And ultimately, I’m glad I did.

As in most of Vermont, due to the moisture, there was no shortage of fungi.

The early trail had welcome boardwalks over the mud.

At this point I was wondering how many people actually hiked this loop.

I don’t see Indian Pipe also known as Ghost Plant often so they always bring a smile to my face.  They do not photosynthesize and are not considered mushrooms. The forest service calls them wildflowers.  Whatever – I like them.

I’d been following these blue blazes which didn’t appear as frequently as I’d like so I was very glad to see this actual sign telling me that I was still on the right trail

The mushrooms stand out so brightly among the leaves.

 

This stream did not have a bridge as the earlier one did but rock hopping was possible.

At this point, I was beginning to wonder how it could be much further.  I don’t think the bog can have a forest road going to it.  Obviously the round trip wasn’t 4.2 miles since I’d gone a lot further than a mile at this point.

Because I was beginning to wonder about this whole thing I was on the alert as I walked down the road and did not walk past this sign off to the side which I easily could have.   From a road to a trail I can barely see.

The trail led into the woods once again.  And another sign.

There are several different coral mushrooms and I can’t tell them apart. They are edible but I didn’t pick them.  I think they are lovely.

I’m thinking this mud may be a good omen for getting near the bog.  But getting through it was a chore and it went on for quite a distance.

Well clearly both estimates of the length of this loop hike were WAY off if I haven’t even reached the bog at over 4 miles.   Thank goodness I started out relatively early.

And then just up ahead, there was the sign and the expected boardwalk.  FINALLY

The walk through the bog was nearly all on wooden boards.  I looked in vain for venus fly traps.  They are the only carnivorous bog plants I know other than the pitcher plants.

If I had come earlier in the season, I might have seen the pitcher plant flowers which would have made the plants themselves easier to spot.   This picture of the flower is from the internet.

Utlimately I did spot the pitchers along the boardwalk and after I did, I saw them everywhere. 

At points they were much harder to see among the other plants.

At other points, the boardwalk was so overgrown with the taller bog bushes that I could not see down into the wet ground.   Many of the trees are Black spruce which grow very slowly and have only a few live branches at the top due to the acidic soil and nutrient deprivation.

Some pitchers held water, petals and bugs.  Almost filled up to the top.

Peacham is one of the largest bogs in Vermont.  Its 125 acres is part of the larger  748 acre reserve preserved in its natural state as a unique community within the Groton State Forest.

The bog is estimated to be about 7000 years old, evolving from a shallow depression left by the melting glaciers some 13000 years ago.  The stagnant pond that filled the depression was slowly invaded by sedges, sphagnum moss and other plants forming a floating mat eventually carpeting the entire surface.  

As sunlight was choked off the water became acidified as well as deficient in oxygen and nutrients.  Peat built up below and eventually filled the basin.  The slurry of stagnant water and peat causes plants and animals to be preserved for a very long time. 

Conditions on the surface are very difficult for life and only those plants and animals who can tolerate cold, acid, and a nutrient poor environment can survive.  Thus the carnivorous plants found here.   The pitcher plants have modified leaves known as pitfall traps –a prey trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid and I assume some water given the rains.  Look closely for the “nutrient”.

The boardwalk ended at an overlook with an information sign from which I learned all this information and more.  Such an interesting place.

A few sections of the trail were in the bog itself.   Someone had clearly walked here, but I did not.

Leaving the bog, the trail quickly returned to forest.

Now that I’d finally found the bog and been amazed by it, the hike back did not seem so far and I began to wonder if I’d done something wrong on the way in.  This was clearly a different trail – the back of the loop – and felt shorter whether it was or not.

I should have taken a picture of my fitbit stats at the end but I did write it down..

19730 steps, 7.92 miles.   I was tired but glad I’d come.

I’ve since looked into whether there is a guided hike to the bog so that I might come again and see what I did wrong that it turned out so much longer than any information I read.  I can’t find anything on line and the Nature Center from which the trail started was closed on Monday.  Many things here in the Northeast Kingdom are only open Wednesday through Sunday.