hemlocks natural area

Hemlocks Natural Area just about 7 miles southwest of New Germantown. The last time that we were here, my son was in a backpack, on my back. (He is now 27 years old) This 120-acre site, recognized as a national natural landmark, preserves an uncut drainage of original white pine–eastern hemlock forestIt has changed since then. Quite a few of the tall, stately hemlocks have come crashing down as a result of the invasive species - the Wooly Anelgid. It got to the point where my wife asked me- “where are the hemlocks”? There are some big ones left, and there certainly are other trees, but severe damage has occurred. The trail down into the hollow is lined with many, many ferns, and there are a number of spots where the mossy rocks line the stream, leaving a enchanting effect. We walked along the stream down to the bottom and crossed the bridge, hoping to return by means of the "Rim Trail" that runs along the other side if the stream. Within fifty yards of our starting back on that trail though, we had to abandon this effort as we "lost the trail" I found a tree with a yellow blaze, so I proved that we were on the trail, but here, rather than just brush lying across the trail, there was much new growth that had been allowed to take over. We abandoned our efforts and simply backtracked to return to the parking lot and our car. It took us about an hour here. It was a worthy hike, but rather than exploring a dense preserve of stately trees, this hike is now more of a journey through the school of natural history, a lesson in how an ecosystem moves beyond the event of an attack from an invasive species.