#virgin hemlock trail
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga Canadensis) is sometimes referred to as the “redwood of the east”, and once-upon-a-time, this was absolutely the case; great expanses of virgin hemlock forest cooled headwater streams and created their own unique ecology. But these old growth forests are largely gone now, with only a few remnant stands scattered along the Appalachian spine. A spring hike through a pristine stand of these gentle giants is an experience to be treasured, providing a rare connection to a primeval world nearly lost to us.
From top: Painted trillium (Trillium undulatum), a lover of old hemlock and spruce forests and the most beautiful and delicate of all the trilliums to bloom in this area; marsh blue violet (Viola cucullata), a moisture-loving violet with club-like hairs at the throat of its flower; heartleaf foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), which clumps gorgeously at the edges of seeps and brooks; halberd-leaved yellow violet (Viola hastata), an Appalachian endemic with sword-like leaves; and a red eft (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) on a perilous journey in search of a pond environment, where it will eventually transform into an adult newt.
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The water was running high this morning on Little Laurel Run after several days of steady rain. This section of the stream runs through the virgin hemlock forest at Coopers Rock State Forest.
