The hike is a very easy one. The experience is truly unforgettable. On one face of Mohawk Mountain, which makes a graceful sweep to a 1,661-foot summit, is the modest Mohawk Ski Area. On another are biking and hiking trails, and a paved road to the top. But long before one summits, a detour is in order.
Taking a hike back in time
Located in Cornwall and Goshen, in the northwest corner of Connecticut, Mohawk Mountain State Park boasts the Black Spruce Bog. It is easy to find and offers an easy walk into the depths of its 10,000-year old ecosystem.
Find the trailhead on Mohawk Mountain Road about halfway up the mountain. Park near the maintenance barns across the road, and don’t miss the information kiosk there. Maps, drawings and basic information present a story one has not likely heard before. The bog can only be truly appreciated when one knows its history.
So what happened here 10 millennia ago?
Picture a barren landscape; a frozen tundra near the end of the ice age. Runoff from a melting glacier filled and was trapped in a bedrock depression, creating a stagnant pond. Over time, simple vegetation began to grow, covering the surface. As the plants died, decaying material rained into the pond. Deprived of oxygen, the material formed a growing layer of material in a semi-decayed state, also known as peat moss.
Eventually, woody plants, or shrubs, possibly the sheep laurel and highbrush blueberry there now, were able to grow and be sustained. The bog continued to progress without really changing.
Today, it is dense with towering blue-black spruce punctuating a lime green Tamarack canopy. It does feel out of time to a degree, as one follows the boardwalk dappled with sunlight and overgrown in spots.
An easy hike that demands care
Fallen trees and limbs, often covered with moss, create surreal landscapes in open spaces. A short, gently downhill sloping walk takes one from the trailhead to a boardwalk two planks wide. A sign advises hikers, “Environmentally sensitive area. Please remain on trail.”
The boardwalk meanders through a one-mile loop. It’s perfect for when one is more in the mood to survey the surroundings and admire the tree canopy than concentrate on the trail and footing.
On the driest mid-summer days, the boardwalk at first appears unnecessary. But a closer look reveals boggy areas and small, dry stream beds. There is little real soil here. The peat moss is essentially a sponge that never dries out.
Here and there, where the mossy carpet is not concealed by brush, cinnamon fern, wild calla, pitcher plant and sundew, mushrooms sprout; all signs of wetlands.
A most unique place
What makes it most remarkable is what cannot be seen. Beneath a carpet of lime green sphagnum moss, and a tree canopy of black spruce and tamarack (American larch) is a crater filled with more than 40 feet of partially-decayed plants.
Doesn’t sound very attractive, but it is the only last stage peat bog in Connecticut. It is part of the Mohawk Mountain State Forest and the state’s Natural Area Preserves System.
In two spots, wooden platforms with benches extend off the walkway, detracting from the aura of antiquity. A small plane or two drone overhead, reminding one of civilization nearby.
Deep into the bog, while lingering at the top of the loop, a sound comes that seems to be a lawn mower in the distance. The noise comes closer, and it turns out to be a very large, prehistoric looking insect; probably a large dragonfly. It is right on cue, as if to say, “This is not like any place you have ever been.”
Karen Bartomioli - Karen Bartomioli has been writing for a weekly newspaper for more than 19 years, taking a catch more bees with honey approach. Living, ...
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