Not everyone goes slogging around in Cranberry Swamp Natural Area. The swamp is in an out-of-the-way area surrounded by mountains, forests, and a few cabins in Clinton County, Pennsylvania.
Only a few intrepid nature lovers get to enjoy Cranberry Swamp's intriguing community of insects, wildlife, and interesting wetland plants.
For example: once I was out on the swamp and one area was a sea of
Rose Pogonia Orchids. These little bog orchids can grow abundantly in certain conditions. See the photo of Rose Pogonia Orchids below.
Not only does Cranberry Swamp hold many natural goodies for the nature lover,
but it also has on display some early
logging remnants from Pennsylvania's logging history.
Some folks would call this a ghost forest, or stump field, because of the scattering of old stumps that remain from the logging that cleared this area in the early 1900's. In the photo of the old stump (below) the early lumberjack's axe-cut face-cut is plainly visible on the left side of the stump. While on the right side, the flat back-cut from the cross-cut saw shows up nicely.
Forest fires and the swamps acidic conditions probably played a role in preserving these old stumps for a hundred years.
Here is a photo of Cranberry Swamp looking out across a full-sun area on the sphagnum/sedge area of the swamp.
Here is a photo looking the other direction at a portion of the swamp where some trees and bushes have managed to take hold and grow despite being part of the wetland.
Here is a photo I took one day when the cranberries were in full bloom.
Yes, the name, Cranberry Swamp, certainly fits this small wetland in the mountains of Clinton County.
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