Photo Journey Through the Bog

Recently, I took a trip to New London, New Hampshire. I was traveling with my girlfriend and she decided to take me to one of the spots she remembers going to as a child. Since I had never been to a bog before, I was excited. The bog we went to was called the Philbrick-Cricenti Bog. The bog is an old pond where peat moss has overgrown across the water. The water has an unusually high pH level. As a result, the high pH water preserves most of the dead vegetation, preventing the growth of decaying mold and fungus. When we arrived, we simply pulled over on the side of the road and walked into the forest. The bog is maintained by the New Hampshire Parks and Recreation division, so there were signs and maps of the area. We followed the trails around the bog on a set route. The trails were marked by wooden planks on which we were to walk, in order to keep from sinking into the bog.

All of the trails were composed of these flimsy wooden planks

Upon exiting the denser vegetation, we were able to view the heart of the bog. The bog seemed to go on and on. It resembles a field and made me almost feel like running through it. Yet the bog is deceiving. What appears to be a flat open field is in reality, just thin growths of peat moss. The moss is penetrated by trees here and there, but most of the plant life grows on the moss itself.

 

The lighter patches are the areas where the moss is thinnest

A handy "Danger" sign and a marker in disrepair are all I need to go no further

 Some of the information we were provided told of several horses and cows from local farms that had fallen into the bog. The lighter patches show where such accidents might have occurred. The bog is known for its red peat moss, which blends with the typical green moss.

With almost every step, water would bubble up around the walking boards, you can almost see through the moss here

I was interested to note that the bog seemed almost half-dead and half-alive. Many of the plants grow around dead ones, and many of the living plants have dead branches or leaves.

Another curiosity I found was on the dead trees in the bog. Many of them were covered in an odd fungi. I have never seen anything like it before. The fungi appeared to be dead as well, lending itself to the silent rest of the bog.

The eerie remnants of a long-dead tree

We had a nice little journey through this bog and we had some unique experiences along the way. I thought it was a lot of fun, plus you'd be surprised how little mosquitoes there are. I'd recommend blowing up the photographs in order to fully see the detail. As always, Thanks for reading!