Winter Hiking to Eagle Falls

Winter waterfalls are one of my favorite sights to see. When we venture down a winter's path through the woods, the surroundings look much different than other seasons.

Eagle Falls is located on the Cumberland River, down from the famous Cumberland Falls, in Kentucky's southeast region.

In the springtime, you can walk the path on the other side of the park. It's very popular and often crowded so go early. Hiking in winter means you usually have the woods and paths to yourself and so photographing Eagle Falls with no one to interrupt your shots is great.

This particular shot was made in the early afternoon, across the river, on the upper path, just past the parks visitors stone buildings.
We had to climb down some steep, icy stairs and then climb onto a large boulder to capture this.
The view is not very clear in the other seasons because of the tree leaves.
No, this type of hiking, by two photography nuts, isn't for the faint-hearted.
But in the end, it was worth it!

The Unexpected Snow

Sunny start to our hike at Pickett Park

Hiking is a fun way to get exercise and see mother nature. Sometimes we're lucky enough to capture a memorable experience.
While hiking in Pickett Park, Tennessee this winter, the clouds rolled in and it began to flurry.  Quickly the sun would pop out and warm up. This happened numerous times throughout the day so I wasn't worried.

As the afternoon sun disappeared once more, the it flurried and quickly grew into fat flakes. The wind picked up and now a horizontal blast was hitting our faces.

I was bundled up in three layers but had on sneakers and very wet, wool gloves. This wasn't fun anymore. My fingers were frozen and my toes were numb so we rushed to finished the 5 mile hike.

Pickett Park Arch

As always, my boyfriend was taking photos and the one was of me as the snow started to cover me up.

frozen to the bone

My camera was in its carrying case but not covered in plastic so I worried about it as well.
Finally after an hour and frozen stiff, we made it back to the car, very wet and cold.

I took  some nice photos that day but the reality of the drive home hit and so dampened my spirit a bit.

Hiking in all seasons can be fun and exhilarating. it can also become a near disaster if we get lost in the woods during an unexpected storm. Be sure to take a GPS along or compass, if anyone still uses these.

frozen lake at Pickett Park,TN