Bog explorations Late October

Over the course of the last few weeks, I have returned to the area I’ve been researching as part of Project Listening Post, this time focusing on areas south and east of the point where we start out on foot, as opposed to the north eastern direction prior. My target of focus this time were a couple of large beaver ponds and a large meadow/bog area in the south western direction. The distance being covering one way is essentially a two mile hike and lacks any trail system so that is where some of the challenges begin. The terrain is a combination of thorny scrub brush, bogs and dense pine rich forest, makes line of sight navigation tricky and requires compass navigation instead. I found in the course of getting to the first beaver pond that without compass readings it’s too easy to lose the straight(ish) line as you are forced to go around terrain and related obstacles. On the second trip, I lucked out however and found a game trail which helped a bit, likely made by a moose as it traveled between the various water sources.

The first area I explored I call the three layered beaver dam, since that it essentially what it is. The terrain and two beaver damns have turned the area essentially into a 3 layered home for the beavers in question, and in the course of exploring the periphery of the pond system, it’s evident that this is a bedding down area for both the moose and several deer, and a water source for black bears. All of these left evidence of having been there in the form of scat, tracks, or just he bedding down area, evidenced by the size of the impression made. In between the two ponds is an area of treacherous bog/meadow, with hidden and uneven ground, surrounded by thorny bushes of all kinds, and the odd hidden stream hiding in the tall grass and scrub.

The second area to the east of the beaver pond system I simply called the big pond, because combined with a large meadow, that’s basically what it is. It’s a very scenic location, and is largely surrounded by pine forest and prone to trees being knocked over by heavy winds. That was on my mind the day I explored this area as the winds were a bit heavy. Otherwise the surrounding area is covered in soft mossy ground and fallen pine needles making for ideal terrain for hammocking or tenting if one is up to lugging a tent in that far through the scrub. I attempted some wood knocks while there and the area has one of the best echoes I’ve heard anywhere. While in this area I found some strange looking tree formations, likely the result of falling naturally but their placement was interesting anyway. Also found on the southern side of the pond were a set of tracks, unsure of identity but were large, 12 inches or so but possibly distorted in the mossy ground with a large but uneven stride given the uneven ground.

This area is about a mile south of the area near the moose pond where possible tracks were found in the summer, but generally in the same vicinity. For repeat emphasis I will point out the beneficial use of frequent compass readings because as I tried to locate the long meadow, the forest became sufficiently dense that navigation became tricky. I was losing daylight and opted to stay in the great pond’s vicinity instead. I twice heard the sound of snacking undergrowth nearby, one source turning out to be a retreating white tail, the other never came into view. On the way back, I drove the logging road in to the far end, scouting ahead for future spots to make entry into deeper forest, favoring what I call soft-earth areas such as water sources and bogs where muddy areas are common and good for finding tracks. I covered several miles and found two such areas before grabbing the main logging road and returning home.

Future outings will be likely be in these two new areas, but also a series of ponds farther northwest as well as a follow up to the areas researched in the summer and early to mid-fall.