21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Windblown bog at Dolly Sods.

Dolly Sods is a Wilderness Area in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, United States. The drive to the top is not for the faint of heart, and once reaching the highest plateau at 4700ft, wind is a constant force. The open expanse of sphagnum bog with huckleberry bushes, sedge grass and stunted red spruce, is more typically found in Canada. Trekking through it presents a soggy moss-covered floor with scattered cranberries, delicate St. John’s Wort blossoms cotton grass and goldenrod. Despite the cold wind slapping my cheeks, the sound of dancing grass as it reflected sunlight invited a tranquil poetry that can’t be found anywhere but here. It was my dads favorite place to take us backpacking when I was a kid, and now it is the favorite for my family.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 10.2022
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Davis, West Virginia, United States of America
Camera: Canon EOS 6D
Copyright: © Marta Fiscus