LOCALadk
28
"Which peaks have you hiked? " is the beginning of
the end for me. As I stumble through my response,
caveating all the reasons why I don't spend my time
bagging peaks, I see their eyes glaze over, their smile
fading. If I don't come up with a good reason soon – –
perhaps, "I recently broke all of my bones" – – a bud-
ding friendship just got nipped.
While others are chasing summit views, I spend my
time slogging through bug-ridden, waterlogged low-
lands. In a hiking culture of 46ers, I'm a bit of an ugly
duckling.
But I'm not the only one. There is a small but mighty
group of us living in Adirondack Park.
We've got hip waders and moss ID books, and we're
locked-and-loaded with a seemingly bottomless sup-
ply of facts about these wild and rare ecosystems.
What's so neat about peat?
Peatlands are a globally rare ecosystem– – covering
only three percent of Earth's surface– –and Adirondack
Park is home to some of the largest peatlands in New
York State. They include bogs, fens, and mires, all of
which are wetlands where peat forms.
Peatlands purify the water we drink. They provide
safe haven for plants and animals who cannot survive
anywhere else. And they store more soil carbon than
our global forests, helping to keep our planet cool.
