02/20/2019
For the past few weeks I've been stuck at home fighting a nasty flu. I'm feeling better, but now I have a case of cabin fever. Tomorrow's Ansel Adams birthday, so what better place to celebrate than Yosemite.
This is also a very special time of the year. For a few days in February, the setting sun lines up perfectly with Horsetail Falls, lighting it up spectacularly for a few minutes so that it looks like a river of fire tumbling down the mountain.
This firefall is a natural phenomena, but in the first half of last century, the Yosemite Firefall was a winter event where bundles of firewood were set on fire and pushed down the majestic cliffs of Yosemite, to the delight of tourists in the valley below. This tradition endured until the late 60's when a more conservation minded spirit took hold.
But this new, natural, firefall was not discovered until 1973, when famed landscape photographer Galen Rowell captured it. Aside from being at the right spot at the right time, this is actually a very easy picture to snap. There are several viewpoints from which it can be seen, mostly along the road in the valley and at the El Capitán picnic spot. The conditions have to be right, though, with enough water and clear skies in the west. Getting to the right spot involve hiking for a few kilometers, but mostly because the parking lots are filled early in the morning by the hundreds of photographers congregating and hoping they will make the shot.
Tonight was not optimum, with some clouds blocking the sun at the last minute. Still beautiful, but I'm coming back tomorrow.
