Big Run Bog, Part 2

Big Run Bog

 

After driving through the town of Thomas, WV, we took a forest road leading up to he Olson Observation Tower. I'd read that originally Big Run Bog was called the Olson Bog, so again, a trail from the tower to the bog was possible. The gravel road was in better condition than the road at Dolly Sods, as it climbed up steadily through the dense forest I could catch glimpses through the trees of the drop down to the valley. We were probably at around 3500 feet altitude.

The only trail near the Olson Tower was the Allegheny Trail, traversing  thickets of Rhododendrons (R. maximum I presume, from the large leaves.) that didn't seem very promising, so we turned around and tried another road--the sign indicated this was the road to Big Run Falls. About a mile or two in, the road became impassable--huge deep pools of water and rocks, and we were afraid we'd get the car stuck there. It was tough turning around with so little room, with ditches dropping off to either side, but my friend managed to do it. 

Path in the woods led to the bog

We debated whether to try walking up the road to the falls, but it was getting to be late afternoon, and we wanted to be able to get home before dark, so we backtracked down to the main road. Along the way, my friend decided to stop at a one-car pullout to take a leak in the woods. Coming back she said, "There's a trail down there, and I can see open space behind those trees. Could that be where the bog is?" It was worth a look, so I got out and followed her down the path. 

Lovely, rich woods-- a clump of tiny golden mushrooms at the base of a tree caught my eye. Likely very young honey mushrooms

Mushrooms at the base of a tree

The path was short and opened up to a wide grassy expanse--Eureka! Here was what we'd been looking for: Big Run Bog!

Cotton grass in Big Run Bog

There was no boardwalk, and the ground was very soggy--we sank a few inches with each footstep, trying not to get in above our ankles. The ground was carpeted with cranberries laden with fruit and purple pitcher plants. Ferns in their autumn gold and clumps of Rhododendrons dotted the expanse. Who knew that Rhododendrons could live with wet feet? I'd always thought they needed good drainage, but they seemed to be flourishing here.

Cranberries

Purple Pitcher plants, cranberries, and wild strawberries

We didn't go very far into the bog, although we could guess from the tree line at the horizon that a stream or body of water must run somewhere along the farther edge. The ground was so squishy, we settled for taking photos and picking some of the cranberries. The plant diversity here was not as profuse as at the wetlands, though I'm sure we would have identified more had we continued farther in. I'd wanted to see some of the Bottlebrush Gentians that are reported to be found here, but there were none where we were.

Clump of purple pitchers with one old flowering stalk

Ferns turning gold

Details of the Pitcher plants

Time was marching on, so we turned around and headed back to Thomas. There was an interesting row of small stores along the road, and we stopped to see if there was someplace we could get some hot tea, but only one store was open, and it was not a cafe. It had some charming seasonal decorations with lots of pumpkins--I couldn't resist taking a few shots.

Store front in Thomas, WV

Detail of the fall decorations.

The drive back was uneventful, except for some rain. What a way to spend one's birthday, another great adventure in wild, wonderful West Virginia! Can't wait to get back there again soon.

In Search of Big Run Bog, Part 1

Freeland Run in Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge

 

My friend had read about another high-altitude bog in West Virginia--Big Run Bog, and we wanted to explore it, so one morning back in late September (my birthday), we set out to find it. Google was of little help: they showed no location for it, but there was a Big Run Falls shown on their maps. We figured the bog had to be somewhere nearby.

The leaves were starting to turn in the WV highlands, making for a colorful drive along the way, although the day was cloudy and the colors subdued. Mist and fog wafted up from the valleys and mountains, looking like smoke. We reached the town of Davis, WV, not sure in which direction to proceed. My friend's husband had obtained some GPS information, and directed us to a location south of the town, past Blackwater Falls State Park, and there seemed to be a boardwalk there. We parked and started walking down the Freeland Boardwalk Trailhead.

Bracken Ferns along the boardwalk

The fall colors along the boardwalk were lovely, with several varieties of Goldenrod--there are so many species of Solidago that I couldn't venture to say how many or which, but Narrowleaf (Euthamia graminifolia), Zigzag (Solidago flexicaulis) and Canadian Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) were three I could identify. Spent flowers of Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) turning russet, and wild asters (Symphiotrichum racemosum) made for some beautiful arrays. Meadowsweet, elderberries and other shrubs were abundant.

Wild asters, Narrowleaf and Canadian Goldenrod

CanadaGoldenrod

Walking along the boardwalk I looked for cranberries, a classic bog plant, but saw none, nor any cotton grass. I guessed that this was actually a wetland, not a bog, and therefore, not the Big Run Bog we were looking for. Still, it was a lovely place full of interesting plants. A spring-fed stream, Freeland Run, was visible in places from the boardwalk, and an old beaver dam had left a pond of sorts.

Around a bend, we spied small spikes of white flowers that turned out to be Nodding Ladies Tresses orchids (Spiranthes cernua) in the distance. A wonderful, unexpected find!

Nodding Ladies Tresses orchid

Nodding Ladies Tresses orchids

Signs said that the Canaan fir, native of this area, was in danger due to the Wooly Aldegid insect, and some of the trees looked to be affected, but they were attempting to restore the habitat by planting more fir saplings, protected from deer with wire cages.

Canaan fir (Abies balsamea var. phanerolepsis)

Lichens covered the dead branches of the Canaan firs and other stands of bare trees and shrubs.

Lichens on dead branches of Canaan fir

Here and there we saw the seedpods of Clematis vines, likely Clematis virginiana. And also, several strange-looking caterpillars with long hairs, which turned out to be Tussock Moth (Lymantriidae sp.) caterpillars. Those long hairs usually have stingers, so we didn't touch them.

Virgin's Bower seed pods (Clematis virginiana)

 

Tussock Moth caterpillar

Boneset, goldenrod and asters

I really enjoyed the rich wetland from the comfort of the well-kept boardwalk, and have so many ideas for paintings from these photos, it may take me years to do some of them. But, this definitely wasn't the Big Run Bog we'd set out to find. We took off again in search of it, heading north on Rte 32 towards Thomas.

To be continued in Part 2.