Volume XXV - 1994

Sphagnum Bog is one of many charming areas in Crater Lake National Park. It is four miles west of the lake, but an easy hike from the Rogue River National Forest. The trail to Sphagnum Bog can be reached by taking state highway 230 and turning east at the sign for National Creek Falls. Use forest road no. 6536 to go east, then spur road 660 to find the trailhead. It is only about one quarter mile to the park boundary once you are on the trail.

On the way into Sphagnum Bog, you may be lucky enough to see a number of rare and interesting plants. One with a small purple-blue flower is Mount Mazama collomia, Collomia mazama. If you see one, note its location and report your find on the observation cards available at park visitor centers. Remember, as with all flowers in the park, do not pick or allow anything to harm it.

In roughly a mile and a half, the access trail intersects with the so-called Bald Crater Loop. Go south to Crater Springs and cross the creek once to reach the bog. The total distance to the bog is 2 1/4 miles. Upon finding the wetland area, a deep sense of the primordial can be felt. Amid the bog's hollows and mounds of vegetation, you should find that sphagnum becomes more obvious. This genus is represented by two species in the bog, S. squarrosum and S. subsecundum Sphagnum has large open cells which make it seem like a sponge to the touch. This is because most members of the genus have the ability to hold 20 or more times their dry weight in water.

Sphagnum is a moss which grows only in water and has the ability to acidify its surroundings. Although it grows continually upward, Sphagnum is balanced by decay at the bottom of the plant. Its partial decomposition in water forms peat. Varying in consistency from turf to a slime, peat further decomposes to a dark brown or black and can impart a tea color