See the Yosemite Firefall!

Sometimes dealing with crowds and permits is worth the effort

howdy

Yosemite Firefall // Kiel Maddox

Each spring, a unique angle of the sun’s rays strike Horsetail Falls in Yosemite Valley in a way that makes it look like the flow of water is glowing. This is called the Yosemite Firefall, and photographers and natural phenomenon-seekers alike flock to the park for a chance to see it.

The phenomenon takes its name from the staged ‘firefall’ that used to occur there – where staff from the Glacier Point Hotel would set a bunch of stuff on fire and then shove it over the rim of Horsetail Falls at night to delight guests at Camp Curry. Did this look cool? I’m sure. Was it ecologically responsible to dump flaming debris into the middle of Yosemite National Park for oohs and ahhs? Absolutely not. The practice was ended in 1968, and wouldn’t you know it, photographers started noticing this natural version just a few years later.

Kiel Maddox wrote a very useful history and guide to the Firefall for the site. He notes that a lot of things need to line up perfectly – but when it hits, it’s really beautiful. Of course, like everything these days, it’s also a lot more popular. The park now institutes mandatory entry permits on weekends to control crowds. This year, the park estimates the Firefall should be visible between February 10-28.

Initially I was going to write a bit here about how sometimes these circus-style crowded events in natural places can leave a bad taste in your mouth, but then I remembered an experience I had exploring the Four Corners region.

A few years back, I spent several weeks traveling through Utah and Arizona, camping in a new spot every couple of days. En route to a hike at Syncline Dome, I noticed crowds swarming around Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park. This was in the middle of the week during the winter, and the crowds weren’t anywhere near Yosemite levels, but it did strike me as odd that people would camp out 90 minutes before sunrise to get a photo that arguably already exists tens of thousands of times on the internet.

A Google Image search for “Mesa Arch Sunrise.” This goes on for pages and pages.

And yes, in case you were wondering, you can also find an endless list of Google SEO-optimized pages on how you, too, can take this same exact photograph for yourself.

A day after recovering from the Syncline Loop Trail (ooo that one is a doozy!), I made my first visit to Arches National Park. Arches is a park that is not without its own crowding issues – it was one of the first to institute a shuttle system and reserved entry permits – nor is it devoid of iconic photo hot-spots. And I wanted to see one – Delicate Arch.

It’s tough to get more over-exposed than Delicate Arch – it’s literally on the license plate of every car in Utah. The trail is moderate enough that most people can get to the arch without any problems, but when I pulled into the trailhead and saw two tour busses parked there (again, mid-week!), I wasn’t deterred.

Hiking to Delicate Arch remains one of my favorite hiking experiences of all time – and it’s not because I had the trail to myself or I was able to get a beautiful photo without any other people in it or I was there for some unique lighting phenomenon. It was special because even with those crowds, even with the selfie-snappers, it was still stunning to see in person.

I stayed a distance away from the arch, near where the trail turns a corner and allows hikers to see it for the first time. I must have spent a good half hour there just sitting and enjoying hearing everyone’s reaction to finally seeing this beautiful landmark for themselves. Each and every time I heard another visitor’s stunned exclamations, my face lit up with a grin. It was nice to be reminded that sometimes the popular places are popular for a reason, and that even if I didn’t get solitude on this hike, I still had an incredibly rewarding experience that I got to share with a whole bunch of lovely strangers.

The Big Story

Something to talk about

Still in a Drought

Great Salt Lake in 2005, which much more water than it has right now. // Brigitte Werner / Creative Commons

Last week I wrote about how even with the new drenching from the atmospheric fire hose that’s still pointed at the West Coast, we still have a long way to go before we’re out of the woods on that one. Case in point – the Great Salt Lake, which has lost 73% of its water and 60% of its surface area. A shrunken Great Salt Lake is not just bad for all the wildlife that depends upon it – but the dust kicked up from the lake can increase the speed that snow melts as well as carry airborne toxic sediment that may cause cancer. What’s needed? 30-50% reduction of nearby water usage. Maybe soon we’ll have to just call it the Great Salt?

Modern Hiking

Good stuff from the Modern Hiker site

Water Hazards

A hiker sits near Switzer Falls a few days after a rainstorm.

Well, it’s wet, isn’t it? And it looks like it’s gonna be wet again pretty soon, too. So on the one hand, it’s a great time to get out and see our waterfalls and rivers in heavy action … but on the other hand … those rivers and waterfalls in heavy action mean some of those trails you hike to get to them are not as safe or as mild as you might remember them being. 8 hikers had to be rescued in the San Gabriels this week, not to mention the massive damage to communities and landscapes throughout the state. On the trail and especially in your home and neighborhood, I hope you are safe.

We’ve got a new guide to things you should keep in mind when you’re hiking to your favorite waterfalls up on the site. And in case you want to do some hiking up where this rain is falling as snow, we also have a brand new guide to winter hiking throughout the Golden State, too.

Your Parks

Your Places

A Better SEKI

Emerald Lake in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks // NPS / Rick Cain

Hey speaking of crowding at National Parks (and I have a feeling that’s a phrase I’m going to write a lot here), the team at Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks has opened up public comments on their Visitor Experience and Access Plan. The plan outlines challenges the park is facing, including increased visitation, roadway congestion, aging infrastructure, and limited winter access to parts of the park. They want to know what kinds of experiences are most important to you, what barriers you have faced in the park, and what you think the park is doing well and where you think it could improve. Public comment ends on January 24.

Tech Talk

Gadgets, Technology, and Hype

Good Vibrations

Shake rattle and roll // USGS

I love the concept of community science – I’ll talk your ear off about how great iNaturalist is whenever I get the chance. Now amateur seismologists can get in on the fun with a small device called the Raspberry Shake, an add-on for the affordable homebrew computers known as Raspberry Pis. The New York Times has a great story about how this group has formed a new community of ground-vibration enthusiasts, who are not only mapping out the tectonic motion of the earth’s plates, but also the day to day vibrational rhythms of life. It’s one of those “slow down and you’ll be surprised by what you see” kind of stories, and I love those.

---

Hey, are you looking for books? You can get signed copies of my best-selling Day Hiking Los Angeles and Discovering Griffith Park directly from me!

You can also snag all three of my books from Amazon or your local bookseller.

---

Wildlife Crossing

Wildlife and the Outdoors

Tails of Two Cities

Courtesy Peninsula Open Space Trust

Wildlife connectivity is the (long-overdue) urban environmental topic of the moment, thanks in no small part due to the legacy and legend of L.A.’s recently-passed P-22, the mountain lion of Griffith Park. Learn more about the work being done throughout California by joining a free seminar on the topic, featuring scientists from the National Wildlife Federation, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, and the Peninsula Open Space Trust. They’ll talk about current efforts and future plans throughout the Golden State that will help make life a little bit easier for our animal friends. The webinar is on Thursday, January 19th at 7PM Pacific. It’s free, but a registration is required.

In more P-22 news, all of the free tickets for P-22’s Celebration of Life at the Greek Theatre on February 4thwere claimed. The event will be live-streamed if you couldn’t get a ticket, and I will be heading back to Los Angeles for the weekend to attend, so say hello if you’re there!

One More Thing

Oh yeah, before I go …

is this “Over” now?

In-N-Out is a classically Western fast-food experience. I know every time I land at LAX, I try to figure out if I have enough time to swing by the Sepulveda and Westchester outpost for a Double-Double (Animal Style, chopped chilis, thanks). To me, this food is intrinsically tied to the West Coast. I’m not a big fast food guy, but even now as I write this my mouth is watering — even if their fries are kind of trash.

An article in the Washington Post is warning us our beloved and oddly religious burger house might be … over. To wit: it’s opening a corporate headquarters in Tennessee with plans to open several stores in Nashville in the next few years.

When I moved to L.A. from New England, there were exactly zero of our ubiquitous Dunkin Donuts stands anywhere in Southern California. At work, our contingent of East Coast transplants would pine longingly for our favorite over-flavored coffees and limp Boston cremes. We heard tales of former Dunkin’ stands and tracked down old photos, only to find out they were now Winchells or YumYums. We spent way too much money having family ship us coffee from the East Coast. Anytime we went home, we’d text each other photos of the donuts we were joyously eating.

Then, all at once, Dunkin coffee was at supermarkets. Not long afterward, Dunkin opened up stores all over L.A.

And that’s when we realized that Dunkin was … just fine? What we loved was our nostalgia, and the sense of place that was attached to this food — not the food itself. Frankly, I’m a little bummed to see In-N-Out joining that list, too. I wish more people were comfortable not getting everything they want everywhere all the time and could just let places be different and unique.

And I guess next time I’m craving a burger after a hike in the Santa Monicas, I’ll swing by the Apple Pan instead.

Until then, Happy Trails.