Spruce Flats Bog

Happy New Year!

This past weekend was the annual “end of the holidays” decompression vacation. Dana and I get a cabin and head for some peace and quiet in the woods. This year was the coldest yet! We immediately got the fire going to warm up the cabin, made dinner, played some card games and got cozy. The next morning the destination for me was the Spruce Flats Bog. I’ve only made the short hike out to the bog once, last winter during the same getaway! The path then was snow covered and it was cold. This year it was much snowier and much colder. I drove up the mountain to the trailhead, the same as Wolf Rocks. The winds were howling through the trees above. It was the only sound. I trudged through the snow down the short trail. The trail is only 0.3 miles but the snow was high and it seemed like people hadn’t been there in some time, I saw people tracks, but they were not fresh. The only fresh tracks were from the wildlife, deer, possibly bobcats, etc. When I got to the platform, the snow got much deeper and tracks disappeared. It was -21 degrees, the snow was up to my knees, and the wind blew snow all around making huge drifts on the bog. It was eerily quiet, just me, wind, and snow … lots of it. It was almost like a scene from a dystopian movie. I spent an hour our there and froze to the bone, but it was worth it. The bog is a cool area with a lot of history and a lot of unknowns about how it was formed. It was neat seeing it in this state, all snowed under. I’m definitely going to make a point to return in the Spring to see the new growth.