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New bog on North Mtn and the adventure of getting there

Kaaterskill Falls, North/South Lake, North Point, North Mtn, Palenville Overlook, Rip's House, South Mtn, Stoppel Point
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mike
Posts: 1442
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:20 pm
Location: Ravena, NY

New bog on North Mtn and the adventure of getting there

Unread post by mike »

I have been aware of a potential new bog on North Mtn for quite some time. I had some satellite views of it. But, I have not had a chance to visit it to confirm it. It appeared to be quite large. Maybe larger then the bog near Bad Man's Cave. That is what today's hike was about. I have attempted to hike the rim of North Mountain for several years. Each time I ended up too north, and ended up on stoppel Point. Today, I had done a lot more planning. There is an easy way to get up there from the cirque at the head of spruce Creek. But, it is hard to find. So, Alexis and I ventured out to find this new bog.

We parked at Scutt road PA, and headed down North Lake Road to Spruce Creek. From there we bushwhacked up the edge of Spruce Creek. This time we stayed a little east of the creek to miss the conifer forest. I had assumed that it would be easier. But, it wasn't. It was rocky and wet with a lot of slash on the forest floor. As we approached the head of Spruce Creek and he cirque, we moved up on the bottom shoulder of North mtn. We move down until we got to a point where it was fairly easy to climb up to the top of North Mtn. If you find the right place it isn't that steep.

Once we reached the top of North Mtn on the north side, the top of rich with Balsam Fir and quite thick in places. We weaved and fought our way along the west rim. In a few places we found some mini-bogs that were black from decay. About half way across the west rim, we broke into a section that just had yellow birch. Nice easy hiking in the birches. But, as we rounded to the south east rim, the balsam firs returned.

As we approached the spot we believed where we would find the bog, we found a section that was devoid of trees and brush. At first I thought that I had found the bog, and it was turning out to be a false bog. I was quite disappointed. It was a lot of work to get there. But, as I wondered around, I suddenly found the bog. My guess is that it is about 150-200' in diameter. It is quite large. A hidden gem for sure. I was going to try and measure it, but due to the dense balsam firs on one side, we abandon that attempt.

We then headed along the southeast rim at a very slow pace. The balsam firs were quite thick in places. Moving forward was quite difficult. Lots of weaving and forcing our way through the firs. We finally reached the hidden campsite and knew that the trail was close by. We then hiked down to Lookout #2 and took a quick break for pics. We then moved down to North Point (Lookout #1). We stopped to eat lunch (5pm) and enjoy the view. from there we descended down the mountain towards our car. By this time we both were quite tired. We only hiked 5.78 miles. But, some of those miles were quite difficult. Here are some pics:

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Spring is here, and they were popping up everywhere

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Trillium were just starting to bloom

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Strange clearing we found part way up Spruce Creek.

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Devoid section near the bog

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View of the bog from the balsam fir forest

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The new bog

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View of North-South lake - near the bog

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We thought that we were alone. But, apparently not!

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View from Lookout #2

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Yummy looking bear scat

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North-South Lake

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North-South Lake
bikenhike
Posts: 134
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 5:53 pm

Re: New bog on North Mtn and the adventure of getting there

Unread post by bikenhike »

What an awesome trip. I wish I could have joined you guys. Had no clue there was a bog on North Mtn. When you get a chance can you post the tracks.
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Jon
Posts: 324
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:43 pm
Location: Bangor, PA

Re: New bog on North Mtn and the adventure of getting there

Unread post by Jon »

interesting, i checked Kudish's inventory and I see a listing for badman's cave and a few on poet's ledge but no bog listed that he cored on north mountain.
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dave
Posts: 712
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:14 pm
Location: Acra New York

Re: New bog on North Mtn and the adventure of getting there

Unread post by dave »

A preliminary investigation has been done. Mike Kudish has pictures and information. Mike K plans on visiting it later this month to do a core sample. He needs people to help him carry the equipment up the mountain. That takes some scheduling. The bog is very hard to access. It is located in a spot very few people have ever visited.
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