Here are photos and a story about what a nighttime bog hike was like in Laeva bog, or on the Selli-Sillaotsa hiking trail. Maybe someone will get inspired again!
How did I end up in the Laeva bog at night?
Sometimes very unexpected events happen. For example, you accidentally discuss with someone that you should go for a walk in nature so early in the morning, while it is still dark. That the sun does rise sometimes and that early time is wonderful, calm, and crisp. I had a huge need for swamp puddles and Laeva bog is a place that is not very far from Tartu. As agreed, we started driving before sunrise to take the bog hike.
A swamp hike in pitch darkness is an experience in itself
The sun didn’t rise as early as in the summer, but luckily my friend and I had flashlights. My flashlight was too dim, and I would have been stuck in a bush alone, looking for a path. So in the dark, it’s good to have friends with me who know more about orientation and flashlights.
I wouldn’t have dared to wander around in the pitch-black forest alone, although not because of the wild animals, because they all seemed to be sleeping at that time. People often behave much more strangely than animals. Of course, I’m still a little afraid that if I accidentally step on someone, something bad might happen. You know that feeling when you need to go to the toilet at night and you expect to find your way there by hand, but you haven’t taken into account that the cat has thrown itself into the hallway. It’s better to have a flashlight handy.
When the sky was already getting brighter, I got these photos.
Nature balances and cleanses the body and mind
In nature, the sky is much clearer than in the city, and in the dark sky the stars shine as if you could touch them, just stretch out your hand. You can even stare at the stars. The leaves of the birch are now, in autumn, silvery and shimmer in the light of the flashlight, as if the fairies had just spread out their silver reserves. I have said that there is always something new to notice in the bogs. The forest is more or less the same, the main thing that varies is the color of the leaves and their presence or absence. However, the bog is constantly changing its appearance. Maybe it is also because I just like the bog so much.
You can also go back the way you came
The Selli-Sillaotsa hiking trail starts at one parking lot and ends at another. To get back to the first parking lot from this second parking lot, you have to walk a lot on a gravel road. I don’t think it’s very interesting, and I usually turn around and go back through the forest and bog. This time too. Perhaps because the trail became more and more visible as the morning progressed, the way back seemed much shorter. I remember stopping to take pictures of a puddle, then I added a little step, and the next moment I was back at the Suuretüki observation tower. Where did the trail in between disappear, did the bog elves simply erase it from their memory? I say that anything can happen in a bog, this place is like in some other, mysterious world.
In the Suuretüki observation tower, you can watch a nature film on a screen like this:
The swamp has many different views to offer
It seems to me that nature once again showed its entire package of possibilities, everything it had to offer. Velvet darkness, starlight, fog, sunrise with a fiery red sun, frost, the reflection of the moon in the bog meadows, the musty smell of marsh grass, goats nibbling grass by the road … And you know, it’s still amazing how crisp, fresh and full of energy the early morning air is. This time is completely noiseless.
What would a bog hike be without a picnic!
When you go to discover new worlds, I recommend taking a thermos of hot drinks and some snacks with you. Oh, what a good appetite a bog hike creates!
I also wanted to say that the darkest and coldest times are always just before dawn. This is true both in nature and in life in general. But the sun rises quickly and surely (have you noticed any days when the sun hasn’t risen at all?), the birds wake up too, and a new beautiful day begins. Have a beautiful day, my dears!