Somewhere in the north of Idaho there is a natural bog loaded with cranberries. It's location is a closely held secret, and even if you know where it is, it's not easy to get to. You may be able to get there by car and hip waders, but as far as I know, a boat of some sort is required. If you're partial to boats with engines, an airboat can get you right to the bog, but a normal boat with a hanging prop will only get you to the south side of the island abutting the bog, and then there is a not unpleasant hike. But with a kayak you can navigate the big lake, the 5"-deep stream and cross the small upper lake and paddle all the way to the bog. That is the method we chose.
How did this bog come to be? It's a natural bog, which is a mass of organic matter, moss mostly, about a foot thick, floating atop a shallow body of water. The story goes that an unnamed fellow from Massachusetts happened upon this natural bog in the 1930s and recognized it as an excellent habitat for cranberries. He sent back home for some cranberry starts and there have been innumerable cranberries growing happily on the bog ever since.
This is an excellent trip because of the fall foliage. It's not New England, but there is a pleasing range of colors on the way up. Here's another location hint: it's a 2 1/2 hour drive from our house. Much like going to grandma's for Thanksgiving. You can see from the photo that the light and the colors are awesome in the late season with the low angle of the sun.
Here are the boats on the dock ready to launch. Elaine's is in the water. Where's Elaine?
Here's Nan well into the canal that leads from the lower lake to the upper. We have already crossed the deep water of the lower lake.
Another posed shot of Nan, suitable for a magazine cover.
We waited at the corner of the canal for the kids (I know, us old timers like to continue to call adults "kids") to catch up with us. And here they are.
After the end of the dug canal, the stream meanders through the field with a depth of 3" to 1ft, so shallow that we're hitting bottom with the paddles fairly often. We noticed that the lower lake was two or three feet lower than usual, and thought that might cause the stream to be impassable. We were prepared to walk the island to get there but that turned out to be unnecessary. It's a stream, it seems to always flow the same volume of water.
The stream widens and shallows as we approach the upper lake. The upper lake is much smaller and it's edges are fringed with Lilly pads for a quarter mile.
The bog is dead ahead but the low level of the lake caused a problem we hadn't anticipated. The last 20 yards near the bog were 5 ft deep in plant muck. Seriously, we had to drag/paddle our boats through that stuff with great effort. I tried to pole my boat with the end of the paddle on the lake floor. 5' deep! I brought the paddle back up covered in muck. Don't fall in here!
Whew, made it the the muck. You can see the track of our boats through in the distance of this photo. Anyhow, we made it. The boats look great pulled out on the bog. We don't have to go far to find the berries. In fact they are all about underfoot and we start to gather all we can with 10 yards of the landing site.
See? Look, they're just lying about everywhere on the moss. We thought we'd try that. Nan laid out a towel on the moss (it's very wet, even if it hasn't been raining) and we tried laying down on the moss. Better than the best bed you can imagine. So soft!
About an hour of this was enough to get 3 gallons of berries, enough for all the Holliday needs of two families. The berries are very interesting. They are hard and dry, and when you bite into them they have a series of hollow cavities in the center, making them buoyant in water. And TART?! WOW! That is a lot of flavor! And absolutely no sugar.
I'm afraid Nan's blog of this event is much more human than mine. She focuses on the humans at the event. I take pictures of the boats, the terrain, the bog, and all the mechanics of the trip. I'm afraid that's just the way I am. Sorry. Anyhow, here are the boats turned around and ready to go back into the lake.
The kids were dawdling on the way back (their prerogative. I was in no hurry), so I got out on the old road adjacent to the dug canal and walked over to the island. Here are the kids coming along in the stream.
Finally open water. I'm way ahead of everyone here so I think I'll head out into the deep water of the lower lake.
On the island in the lake there is a very small boarded up cabin. There isn't even a hint of a road on this place, so I wonder who built this and when.
A zoom of the cabin.
My phone camera fails to capture the amazing bright colors set of by the declining afternoon sun.
Back at the van, we broke out lunch. Why we didn't take it to the island I will never know. The kids ate light vultures on a rock.
Here's elaine being all gargoyley.
We were supposed to be back in Moscow by 5, but you can see by the low sun in the west that it's already 4 pm and we have hours of driving to get home. Oh well, it was time well-spent.
