Yosemite National Park is visited by millions of people every year, many for the first time and, also for many, what will be their only time. The bulk visit during the warmer six months of the year. But a sizable chunk descend on the park during February, hoping to see one of nature's spectacles: the illumination of Horsetail Fall.
Not to be confused with the manmade event decades ago known as Firefall—and unfortunately referred to that way by many people, including park staff—Horsetail Fall is illuminated by the setting sun only in February and only if there is sufficient water flowing to catch the light. The Fall itself is so tiny, long, and slender, that many people cannot locate it high on the granite east of El Capitan. But every day in February, people start tracking the water flow, watching the sky, and checking the weather throughout the day with fingers crossed.
Photography lore has it that famous landscape photographer Galen Rowell "discovered" the phenomenon. He definitely published and raised awareness about it. The event is so popular, that the crowds along Southside Drive caused so much damage to the banks and env irons of the Merced River, that the Park Service now cordon off that entire area and confines Horsetail Fall visitors to a 2-mile corridor along Northside. You can also view it from other locations in the park, if you can get to them on Four Mile Trail and Glacier Point. For the latter, bring your snowshoes.
Horsetail Fall at Yosemite had several excellent days this year, but on Feb 19, I saw something I had never seen over many years there. Usually, on a good evening, there is a clear sky, or the sun breaks through patchy clouds and illuminates the Fall. All too often, the sky is winter gray and flat. But on the 19th, a heavy cloud bank with rain was moving east northeast through the area. It didn't appear it was going to clear in time. But at 17:30, a faint golden glow began to appear at the base of El Cap and moved upward toward the top, bathing the entire rock in light. Folks at Valley View & Tunnel View reported a strong shaft of light and rainbow. Where we were located, just east of the Fall, it was still raining lightly, which for this even, was almost surreal. Not that rain and light are anything unusual in Yosemite, but the two at the same time at Horsetail are very unusual. And the light was stunning; "epic" is overused, but not this time. This image was taken as the extremely bright illumination of El Cap was beginning to dim. Eventually, the light faded on El Cap and produced the well-known rosy-gold-orange hued horsetail against gray granite. And it was also lovely.
There is no reliable way to predict whether you will see the illumination of Horsetail Fall. The only way to know is to be there. If you do visit, respect the Park.
