Phil Perkins • Photography

Prints are available in my gallery at Fine Art America. This is Upper Piney Falls.

Choose from the following print types: framed, art, metal, canvas, poster, wood, acrylic and tapestry. Also, framed prints may be customized to suit your wishes!

Backstory

Yesterday, I left Knoxville at 5:50 a.m., driving over an hour through the dark, in order to hike to the 80-foot tall Upper Piney Falls. My goal was to be on the trail by 7:10 a.m., one-half hour before sunrise, so that I could reach the falls near daybreak. On the final stretch of my journey, slowly driving around potholes through a quiet farming countryside, I crested a small hill to see a large cow standing in the road. Safely moving within a few feet of the animal, I rolled down my window to say, “You be careful – go on home, now”. The cow didn’t move, but soon after, I arrived as the only car to park in a small lot near the trailhead of the Piney Falls State Natural Area.

It was only 30-degrees as I headed into the still-dark forest. After hiking nearly 10 minutes, I heard something somewhat heavy moving among the trees, and raised my voice so as to let it know that I was aware of its presence. It was impossible to know for sure what it was…a bear? Sasquatch? Another cow?

Many areas of Tennessee received a few inches of snow on Monday, accompanied by frigid, single-digit temperatures. The cold persisted through Tuesday, though Wednesday afternoon relented to reach a high near 45-degrees. That warmup caused snow and ice to melt, which then froze again overnight. Hence, many surfaces around the waterfall during my hike were extremely slippery! As such, accessing locations downhill from which to take photographs was a strenuous, methodical challenge – for all practical purposes, impossible without trekking poles.

In my third photograph (see above), taken at an elevation approx. midway up the falls, 15-foot tall icicles had melted the previous afternoon along the trail (a popular footpath in warmer weather), before refreezing. This was indicative of all surfaces, including hillsides, as what appears to be snow was actually ice. As such, my efforts to follow the trail behind the falls were thwarted at the edge of ground cover. So, without sufficient footholds, I begrudgingly (but safely) turned around to begin my hike to the next location…Lower Piney Falls.

Thanks for stopping by!