Appalachian Trail: Whitetop Mountain & Buzzard Rock

The views from Buzzard Rock and the bald crest of Whitetop make this moderate hike a popular one, but it is the subtle working of nature in the streams underfoot and the upper story of the forest that attract the savvy hiker to Whitetop. Trickling, unassuming streams, most unworthy even of names, are home to endangered salamanders, and the hiker who takes time to explore under rocks and watersoaked logs will find a treat. Above the trail, the observant hiker might catch a glimpse of the northern flying squirrel in its unusual act of aeronautics. Subtler still, for the observant hiker, Whitetop Mountain is a tale of two ecosystems, marking the southern limits of the red spruce and the northern limits of the Fraser fir.