Sun Jul 14 2024 Peacham Bog by Phyllis Rubenstein

Trip Reports

Sun Jul 14 2024 Peacham Bog by Phyllis Rubenstein

On Sunday, July 14, 2024, 4 of us hiked to Peacham Bog from Green Bay Loop Road. Most of the hike was along an old logging/woods road, some of which was eroded from the recent flood. At about 1.5 miles, just before a pond, there is private property with a trailer. We think the septic system there failed as it was disgustingly odoriferous.

At the pond, we crossed a bridge built in about 2022 above an area where a beaver dam had given out. On either side of the bridge, the abutment was eroded by the recent flood. Soon after the pond, the logging/woods road meets the Peacham Bog Loop Trail, which starts at the Nature Center in Groton State Park. After a few tenths of a mile, the Peacham Bog Loop Trail heads into the woods, where we saw ghost pipe and spring ephemerals in fruit, and tasted cucumber root. In another few tenths of a mile, the trail reaches the bog boardwalk, some of which was under an inch or so of water. (I had hiked the trail on Friday when most of the bog boardwalk was under one to three inches of water.) The end of the boardwalk with its kiosk and bench was dry. There we sat and soaked up the sun, listened to the silence and bird songs, and observed the flora of the unique, domed peatland bog, including black spruce, tamarack, and pitcher plants; Labrador tea, sheep laurel, bog laurel, and leather leaf in fruit; mosses, lichens and more. When the heat became too intense, we headed back into the woods. The round trip mileage was 4.9 miles.

Peacham Bog is a natural wonder, with several different natural habitat communities, and a place to be visited many times throughout the year to fully enjoy its beauty. Next year, I must get there in spring to see the woods and bog plants in flower! I also look forward to another winter trip on snow shoes and/or skis, when one can safely traverse the bog.