We’ve been in the midst of a deep freeze here in the Bluegrass state, which has meant that the waterfalls across Kentucky have been freezing. Copperas Falls in the Red River Gorge portion of the Daniel Boone National Forest was certainly no exception! For weeks, I had been seeing hints online that the falls off Copperas Creek had frozen to the point of being a solid pillar of ice. Some were even suggesting that it’s the most the falls have frozen in several years. This was just too good of an opportunity to pass up! I messaged @Brian2774 on Instagram, and we made plans to head out to the falls shortly after daybreak on Saturday morning.

This was sure to be an epic trip!

I’d been obsessively checking the weather reports for weeks in advance. It looked like I would finally have a weather window to get the sunrise shot I envisioned. The plan was relatively straightforward. I’d drive down to the Great Smoky Mountains on Friday and get on the trail up to the summit of Mt. Leconte no later than 3 a.m. on Saturday. Then, I’d simply wait around and photograph the sunrise from Myrtle Point. How hard could it be?

Over the past few months, I have been acquiring some new gear. I’ve been quite anxious to get out into the woods to try it all out. Most of all, I’ve been wanting to try out my hammock setup. I finally got a chance to get out for a quick, solo overnight. I decided to head down to one of my favorite spots: Red River Gorge. Based on a suggestion from a follower on Instagram, I headed on down to Swift Camp Creek, located in the Clifty Wilderness.

Remember a few months ago when snow spoiled my plans to climb Mt. Leconte in the Smokies? Well, I decided it was finally time to go back and conquer the mountain! I reserved the hotel, made the four-and-a-half-hour drive down to Tennessee, and prepared to complete the hike the following day, which was Saturday.

This weekend, I took a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The plan was relatively simple: hike to the summit of Mt. Leconte (via the Alum Cave Trail) and make a video for the YouTube channel in the process. In the days leading up to the trip, I packed my gear, watched the weather, and paid attention to the daily conditions up on Leconte. The weather forecasts were calling for snow.