These woods used to be an agricultural field and there rock wall still divid up the forest. Closer to the road there are thick old white pines but farther in it turns into a hardwood forest. there is a clear and noticeable line where these white pines stop. There are a few explanations for this pattern. In the hardwood forest most of the maples and oaks have black scars at their base and are no thicker than a 5 inches radius. This suggests that a fire could have gotten rid of all the Pines except for those closer to the road. The Pines could also be there because they are more ascetically pleasing therefor they are maintained and kept healthy on this part of the trail. The true explanation for this pattern is likely a combination of these two hypotheses.
On the left of this panoramic picture you can notice the Pine dominant part of the forest and on the right the hard wood forest.