Excellent views, such as this one up the Hickory Nut Gorge, await along the Skyline trail.

The tree on the left is a remarkable, rare Carolina hemlock. Found only in the Western North Carolina mountain region, it's well adapted to this rocky, windy, alpine environment - somewhat resembling a spruce or a fir in shape and stiffness. Meanwhile, its close cousin - the Eastern hemlock - tends to get tattered and unhealthy when it happens to sprout in an exposed spot like this. With its soft, lacy needles and supple twigs, the Eastern hemlock more closely resembles a white pine than a Carolina hemlock in terms of the environment in which it thrives. Further along this trail, on the left, is one of the only pure stands of Carolina hemlock I've ever seen.

Sadly, both forms of the beautiful, important, and in some cases rare Hemlocks are threatened with total extinction by the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, a tiny, imported, man-introduced pest which sucks the life out of the tree's needles. Click here to find out how the Hemlocks can be saved!

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