Bizarre But Beautiful Bog Trail

An easy early afternoon hike meant a short and flat trail, literally a “walk in the park.” And it’s a bonus if it is also beautiful.

Thus, my housemate took us to Shorepine Bog Trail, a less-than-one-kilometre hiking loop that consists entirely of boardwalks. It sounded perfect.

The trail is a simple loop on a rickety boardwalk that offers a unique, open-landscape contrast to the nearby dense rainforests. The main attraction is the bog itself, which is a unique ecosystem because only a few plant species survive in its acidic, nutrient-less soil. My housemate described them as "broccoli-like" trees. Her friend and I, were of course, curious.

We were not disappointed when we got there. Aside from the fact that it was a short and easy walk, we enjoyed the surreal experience it evoked.

The path is lined with stunted and dwarfed shore pine trees that sort of morphed into interesting shapes (“I could see the broccolis,” I told my companions). There are also a few yellow cedars, red cedars, and hemlock trees estimated to be over 300 years old. But the most distinct vegetation found there, aside from the irregularly-shaped shore pines, are the patches of Sphagnum moss which covers most of the surface. The signs indicated they could be between one to two meters thick and are approximately up to 400 years old.

I felt like being transported into Dr. Seuss’ cartoon world and some sections reminded me of the magical path in the movie, “Labyrinth” that I half-expected either a “Who” character or a goblin to pop-out from one of the trees. The place was both bizarre and beautiful!

After our hike, we decided to head back to our B&B. We ate rice and chicken barbecue for dinner (my housemate’s mom packed enough for a whole platoon), and of course, some more of the wine and the homemade desserts from our hosts. Then, we watched a little bit of TV, played a board game, and boiled a lot of eggs to take along for lunch and snacks the next day (the fridge had three trays of eggs available for us). I decided to make some omelets as well, just to give us some variety.

Before going to bed, my housemate reminded us that we were to check-out the following morning because we had to move to another B&B. Due to our late booking, it was hard to find a B&B that was available for four straight nights.