I’ve always liked bogs, whether I’m going there to take pictures or just go for a walk. There is something so special about bogs, at least for me.

I decided to go to Loosalu bog. It’s is located in Rapla county, quite near Järva county. I had never been to this bog before, so I had plenty to discover.

I started driving from Tallinn and was there in about an hour. The side roads were very slippery that day, as if driving on an ice rink. But nothing crazy. I approached the destination along the Tallinn-Rapla highway (I could also have gone along the Tartu highway, but it would have made a small circle, however it would most likely have taken less time).

On the way, near Vana-Kaiu, I met road deer by the road. Since I had a camera in the trunk of the car at that moment, I had to go after it first. Fortunately, the deer were patient and did not run away. I quickly took a few pictures.

When I arrived, I parked my car, took a photo bag and accessories (for example, ice grippers). In fact, the latter were not needed, although I was initially afraid that the boardwalk might be icy. But there was no ice on the boardwalk, but some snow. It was not slippery to walk on that road.

The Loosalu bog immediately created a special feeling. It seemed somehow powerful and proud. This bog is also home to the largest bog lake in Estonia (at least according to some data).

The weather was cloudy, the sun was not visible. However, there was a pretty dense fog in the bog, which added a lot to the pictures.

First I walked to Lake Loosalu, along a fairly straight boardwalk. There was a small platform where I made the first stop. I read through the information board and found out that the lake is home to unique black perch in Estonia. Anyway, pretty interesting information. When I got home, I searched online to see if there were any pictures of them. And there were. If interested, search on Google yourself, for example with the keywords “Loosalu järv ahven”.

In the place where I made my first stop, the bog water had flowed into the lake and frozen. Looked pretty interesting. I just looked around at this stop, took photos on the ground and from the air with a drone. I also had a small hot drink to keep the body warm, because the air was very moist. I also kept changing the hand warmers inside my gloves at each long stop.

I packed things up and walked on along the boardwalk built around the lake. I also took pictures from time to time when something special caught my eye.

Then I reached the next platform, where I made a longer stop. There I also took pictures with camera and drone. The various patterns drawn on the ice of the lake proved to be particularly interesting. It was also great to photograph them with a drone directly from above.

A ladder was also installed on the platform, with the help of which swimmers could apparently climb out of the water.

When the pictures had been taken of this place, I took a short lunch break. I had brought hot food and hot tea. On day trips I use thermoses, one for the drink, and a special food thermos for food.

Now I walked on again. I planned to go a little further along the boardwalk. The hiking trail goes on longer from there, but considering the length of the day in winter, one just can’t get everywhere. I then walked another 500 meters from the stop and then decided it was time to start going back. At that point, it was about 40 minutes until sunset.

I walked back along the same path I had come from. Before leaving the bog, another stop on the platform, where I had also stopped for the first time. I took some more photos. And it was again time for another hot drink.

Now it was time to go to the car. There was a pretty long way there too. It was already quite dark when I got to the car, but there was no need to use the headlamp yet. I had another hot drink in the car and then started my way home. The road was still very slippery. In total, the trip of the day lasted about 7 hours.

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