Why you need a walking stick in Irish peat bogs.
The best part of having a college kids study abroad is the excuse to go there and travel with them (tip of the day: strongly encourage your kids to study in countries that you want to visit. Also, know that very little actual studying will happen, although they will definitely learn a lot.)
When Will spent a semester in Ireland, Jeff and I planned a trip at the end of his term. Gabe managed to come along, and before long we were tooling up the Atlantic Way along Ireland’s craggy green west coast.
and a dash of stormy weather to keep it interesting.
North of Galway the rocky hills smooth into rolling meadows, with boggy tufts of spiky sedges and yellow-green moss. On our way to Killary to check out a working sheep farm, we pulled over at a certain spot along that road that looked, well, peaty. Fun fact: peat bogs are very springy! Jump up and down on one, and the vibrations can be felt yards away.
As we walked up over a gentle slope, Gabe found a quagmire. Not the abstract problem kind, but a literal sinkhole. The kind that is perfectly camouflaged with reeds and grass, that an unsuspecting person could walk right into and disappear forever. The solid(ish) part of the peat bog comes from layer upon layer of sphagnum moss and other acid-loving plants, clumping blanket-style to cover channels of water below. Holes in those peat blankets are easy to step into but hard to get out of — and are the reason bog hikers bring a sturdy walking stick.
We had a grand time chucking hefty stones into the bog holes. They sunk right through the meadowy surface like a magic trick. You can’t help speculating on what’s fallen in — or been thrown in — over time. More than a few well-preserved bog mummies have been unearthed, as peat bogs are farmed for fuel. They don’t decompose, because bacteria can’t survive the acidic conditions and lack of oxygen.
Just stopping to goof around on a field led to an unexpected, unforgettable adventure, and will always be a reminder not to let your map and schedule get you too bogged down. (yep, I had to say it 😉
