A Wet Time At Slush Pond - Part 2

The dogs and I were exploring the floating peat bog at Slush Pond, a magical place of wild splendor (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):


Ripe, red cranberries were scattered atop the Sphagnum:

And of course I had to taste them. They weren't quite ripe yet but had lots of flavor. They were sour, but let's face it - cranberries are sour even when ripe:

The brush was treacherous and tall enough that I often couldn't see the dogs and had to trust them to come with me. Besides, I was up to my ankles in water and struggling to keep from tripping and falling:

We made it back to solid ground and began making our way back through the forest:

And arrived at our car, which was parked in an empty campsite. I felt let down that our visit had been so brief:


But I knew we passed two more access points along the road back to the highway and decided to stop at both of them. That made the dogs happy once again:

There wasn't much walking I could do at either spot, but the scenery was wonderful:

Seamus stood atop some red and yellow floating sphagnum and smiled:

We traveled on to another access point and I snapped a photo of the narrow channel leading back toward where we'd begun:

Daphne went right into the water and splashed around a bit. It didn't matter, for we were all soaking wet already anyway:

We carefully made our way back to the parked car. As you can see, the road was very narrow. I called the dogs back into the car, counted them several times to be sure I hadn't left anyone behind, and began the two mile drive back to the highway:

A Wet Time At Slush Pond - Part 1

It had been a few years since I'd been to Slush Pond, and it was only 32 miles from home. One morning I decided to take the dogs down for another look. I parked in the last campsite (none of them were occupied) and let the dogs run through the trees, headed toward the Slush Pond:

Slush Pond is truly wild and lovely, a wonderful place for a boy and his dogs:

With lots of interesting smells to keep the canines sniffing:

But the main attraction for me was the floating peat bog. I walked out onto it and discovered that the driest places I could walk were those where the water only reached my ankles. I was looking for the sphagnum moss which comprised this floating bog. I came in three colors - yellow, red and green, which I've read are three distinct species. Ripe, red cranberries dotted the surface:

The peat bog was more overgrown than I remembered it and I could not find a single Pitcher Plant or Sundew plant. Nonetheless, how could a person complain in such a magical place?:

Tamaracks had taken root in some places and Fergus led us straight toward the water:

I figured that the floating peat would be shallower and less likely to hold my weight as we approached the edge, so I walked carefully. I'd long since given up trying to keep my feet dry:

This would have been perfect moose country, though we never saw one:

Closer and closer to the edge:

C'mon, Dad. Don't be chicken. Walk right out here with us:

Yikes! Fergus fell right in, though I didn't see exactly how it happened. It took a bit of effort, but he was able to climb back up on the floating mass of sphagnum without my assistance:

Jack simply ran, first one way and then the other, disappearing into the tall brush and then back out again. This was all new to him and he was enjoying it. But there was still more to see and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Beautiful, Peaceful Slush Pond - Part 2

My sister and I were exploring the floating peat bog at Slush Pond and the dogs had led us out to the edge:

My sister enjoyed eating the abundant cranberries but they were too tart for my taste:

The dogs had no fear of the edge, though ponderous, gigantic Seamus did fall through once. He was able to get himself out of the water, though, and didn't need to be rescued:

Madeline sniffed a clam shell and took a drink of water:

I led the way as we walked along the channel, headed toward the main body of Slush Pond:

There are no signs at the road for Slush Pond and most people don't know about it. That leaves it pristine and wild for us to enjoy:

Madeline was a very happy little Papillon:

This patch of red sphagnum was so brilliant that the ripe cranberries atop it are barely discernible. You can see the cranberry stems, though, looking here like little necklaces strung artistically across the red cushion:

We continued to make our way toward the wider pond:

There were also patches of golden sphagnum which made a spectacular display, all adorned with bright red cranberries:

Fergus smelled something interesting. There were two empty clam shells there, so perhaps a raccoon had been dining recently, leaving behind a fascinating scent:

Walking was dicey and the floating peat bog gave way beneath our feet. We couldn't stop for long because our feet would sink down under water. We had to keep moving:

Once our exploration of the bog was over, we returned to the car. The piney forest was as lovely as the peat bog. There was beauty everywhere:

Beautiful, Peaceful Slush Pond - Part 1

My sister and I had hiked with the dogs up to The Pinnacle (see previous posts), but the day was still young. So we drove south on Route 30 to a narrow, unmarked road into the Adirondack forest which I happened to know would lead us to Slush Pond:

We parked the car, let the dogs out and began heading toward the floating peat bog. But on the way, we enjoyed the tiny treasures on the forest floor such as the various mosses, the British Soldier lichens, the Pixie Cup lichens and the Reindeer lichen:

Here's a close-up of a patch of Reindeer lichen. If you click to enlarge it, you can see a lot of detail:

The dogs were happy and enjoyed the mossy forest floor:

There were puffballs growing amidst the pine needles:

But we were headed out to see the floating peat bog and Clover led the way as we carefully walked out across its spongy surface:

Millions of ripe cranberries dotted the surface:

And I was more than happy to taste a few:

And there were plenty of red, carnivorous pitcher plants. They seemed to be partly beneath the sphagnum substrate, perhaps because the recent rains had raised the water level:

Pitcher plants are really quite lovely. Their flowers look like alien invaders, though I haven't seen one in years:

There were golden patches of sphagnum and red patches, which I've recently learned are different species. This red patch was further ornamented by scarlet cranberries, rather like gems on a crown:

The dogs led us out past the young tamaracks toward the edge of the bog:

This channel led to the rather large Slush Pond and the dogs had no fear of walking right up to the edge. But there was yet more to see and experience in this wild, lovely place and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: