A couple of massive hemlocks in one of the few areas in the East that were spared the lumbermens’ axe. It is hard to convey in a single image just how massive these things are. The trunks at the ground are impressive enough (the ferns are probably knee high on me) but when you look up and they continue straight up into the clouds you know you are in the presence of life that was probably in existence when Columbus first sailed into the Caribbean. Much of the East was like this at one time. This is the appropriately named Heart’s Content area in the Allegheny National Forest in northwestern Pennsylvania. The area has a lot of virgin hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), but it also has white pine (Pinus strobus), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), and sugar maple (Acer saccharum) – all virgin growth and all massive. I have seen only one other hemlock in my life that rivals these in size, and it unfortunately is now gone.

I will be posting more images from Heart’s Content over time.

Sigma DP3 Merrill, Sigma Photo Pro 5, Ps CS6.