I’m headed for a fall, everyone!

The Firefall is happening over President’s Day weekend in Yosemite National Park! If you’ve never heard of it, Firefall only happens for one week out of the year under the strictest of conditions! There has to be enough snow on El Capitan to make a waterfall called Horsetail Falls, and the weather has to be clear enough that the sun strikes the water and lights it up like a cascade of lava!

Such a beautiful sight as this would surely draw someone like George, and since it only happens once a year, I had to take the chance! I’d been scanning the weather forecasts feverishly and finally decided, two days before, to go for it, hoping beyond hope that the weather and runoff would cooperate!

The ride up through the San Joaquin Valley was not as picturesque as I remembered from my adventure in Sequoia National Park two years ago. The fruit trees had not yet bloomed, and a thick, brown haze covered the valley, smelling of the cow poop from the Land O’ Lakes feed lots. Yuck! This haze made skywatching very deceptive, as I couldn’t tell whether the brown in the sky came from haze or clouds. That sure made me nervous! One poorly placed cloud would mean disaster for Firefall viewing!

Timing was also a concern. In order to give myself enough time to find the viewing spot, park, mark my territory among the other photographers (beaver style!), and set up the tripod, I would have to enter the park no later than 4:00. However, due to a few landmark detours, a rockslide that buried part of Highway 140, and a long, slow line at the gate, I didn’t pull up to El Capitan until 4:30!

Luckily, the park service had reserved the entire left lane for Firefall parking, so as soon as the car came to a halt, I grabbed my tripod and rushed out the door. Bad move! The ice along the Merced River was solid and unforgiving, and I was very lucky not to have fallen off the bank as I scrambled for space away from the masses of photographers. By the time I set up my camera, I realized Horsetail Fall was just a trickle, and the clouds were blurring the sunset! I started to despair until suddenly, around 5:30, the clouds parted somewhere over San Francisco!

Success! Even though a dry January had left only a few stray hairs in Horsetail Fall, the effect was still one of red hot lava seeping from the granite face. For five minutes, I was held spellbound by the spectacle, one of those sights that really reminds a beaver how magnificent this big, wonderful world can be. Then, it vanished into the dark, also reminding me that life, though beautiful, is short, and it is best to make the most of it!

George was not among the crowd on the south bank, but there is another viewpoint across the river. I will have to give that a try for the next Firefall in 24 hours. I left the park in the dark and returned to Mariposa to check in at the Miner’s Inn, discovering that they had upgraded my room to a suite with a fireplace! Sweet! It will be good to rest up, because I’ve got big plans for tomorrow. Yosemite has lots of adventures to offer, and since my time is limited, I have a lot of seconds to maximize!

So long!