At some point in the Winter of 2010 I saw my first shot of the firefall effect on Horsetail Fall in Yosemite.  It may very well have been on 500px and at first glance, I thought I was looking at lava pouring  off a cliff in a forest.  Intrigued, I read the description and was stunned to find out that this was happening during the last two weeks of February every year from a small waterfall that was located somewhere around El Capitan.

So the following Winter, I set off during late February to see this for myself and to hopefully get some photos.  I knew from reading Michael Frye’s book, which I had picked up by then, that the “best” viewing point seemed to be just East of the El Capitan picnic area. I tried for three days in a row to get a shot and made the long drive home with some wonderful shots of some valley snow, but no Firefall.  I do, however, remember the amazing camaraderie between some of the long time returners and workshop participants at that time.  Many had brought chairs and thermoses and blankets to keep warm while they were waiting.  Us new comers stumbled around until one of the old timers would point out where this waterfall was because none of us could see it.  I began to think all of them were making this up until the sun actually landed on the falls for a short time and we could see it beginning to glow.  But then it was gone in the clouds and everyone packed up and went home.

Fast forward to 2016 and by now I have shot the Firefall several times with varying results.  On this particular occasion, my buddies and I had the brilliant idea of reserving rooms at the lodge for President’s Day weekend.  We would have at least three chances to shoot the Firefall and spend the rest of the weekend shooting around the park.

 

 

On that Sunday, we had driven up to the Eastern side of the valley to do some ill advised hiking up an ice covered Mist Trail. (It was only later that we found out how stupid this was as those stairs are covered in ice and several people have died making the attempt up.).  We got back to the cars around 4 and it was now time to drive down for another attempt at the shot.  But the traffic wasn’t moving.  It took us over an HOUR to drive from the Curry Village parking lot to Yosemite Lodge.  So many people were now streaming into the valley that the traffic had come to a complete stand still.

When we got past the lodge, cars were pulling over everywhere on both sides and people were streaming down the sides of the road.  We found a place to pull over and joined the stampede toward the North side picnic area.  We never made it to the picnic area but we found other open areas and began shooting just as the fall lit up.  Conditions were awesome that year with more run off then I had ever seen and the wind picked up and blew clouds or orange mist all over the face of El Capitan.  A couple of my buddies had fairly large followings on instagram and they posted their shots, possibly while they were still up there.  Both of them went viral and at least one of them was picked up by CNN.

And then….

Things got nuts.

What was a mild curiosity drawing around 100 photographers back in 2011 became an avalanche of instagrammers as almost every news outlet known to mankind picked up on the annual return of the photographers to the valley, akin to the swallows returning to Capistrano.  By 2018, new parking restrictions had gone up in an effort to deal with the hordes of photographers who were stopping literally everywhere.  At first the park rangers attempted to close off lanes for parked cars, but too many people were stopping and dropping people off, or walking across the road while not looking for traffic, and the gridlock became worse.  The new restrictions were put in place to try get the cars off of the roadway and into a parking area.

Which bring us to the new restrictions in 2020.  According to the NPS Yosemite website, the entire South side viewing area will be closed to cars and foot traffic during the last two weeks of February.  Why?  Because last year, there were an estimated 2000 photographers in the park on February 22 and they completely overran every available spot on the South side, trampling down vegetation and a small army of photographers even pushed into the river to get an open spot.  On top of that , there are no bathrooms on the South side and because people start camping at noon and don’t want to give up their spot…well…you do the math.  It was a very messy business cleaning up after these photographers between the garbage that some left behind and the human waste.

If you are headed to the park to shoot the Firefall this year here is what you are looking at:

1. The NPS is now funneling EVERYONE to the North side,more specifically the El Cap picnic area. You will be directed to park in areas probably East of Yosemite Lodge, possibly as far back as Yosemite Village.  The NPS is estimating a 1.5 mile hike to the El Cap picnic area but it could very easily become longer depending on available parking.
2. On the south side, there is no parking from the El Cap cut off to probably Swinging Bridge...and no foot traffic allowed either.
3.  This might be the new rule, but enforcing it at 3 PM on busy weekends with rabid instagrammers is going to be a night mare.
4. There is no possible way to fit 2000 photographers into the El Cap Picnic area.  What’s going to happen when photographers walk 1.5 miles only to find out that there are no good spots left to shoot from?  Who’s going to tell the hundreds of photographers who didn’t read the new guidelines ahead of time that they are not allowed to return to their favorite location if they preferred to shoot from the South side?
5. It is unclear if you can still shoot from the South side if you approach on foot from the River.  Even if you don’t stand in the area that the NPS is trying to close, there are dozens of other areas to shoot from on both the North and South side if you arrive early and scout. It seems that the NPS would PREFER that everyone head directly to the El Cap Picnic Area mostly because they have restroom facilities there.  If you decide use some initiative and shoot elsewhere, it is highly recommended that you follow the “Leave No Trace” principles and pack out anything that you take with you.  The Southside viewing area was completely overrun last year and the crowds left a mess in their wake.  If you leave an area the way that you found it, the park might still allow you to find other vantage points in the valley.  But if you leave a mess, more restrictions are sure to follow.  They could easily close the park to all traffic other than over night guests and simply bus in photographers who sign up and pay whatever fees are needed for transportation.  I don’t think anyone wants this, but if people continue to be careless, I think you can count on further restrictions in the future.
6. If traffic was a nightmare in 2016, you can expect pure armageddon during the last two weekends of February unless heavy snow keeps the casual visitors away, i.e. people who don’t want to deal with chain restrictions and possible road closures.  If it is sunny and bright on President’s Day Weekend, things could get pretty crazy this year.  And regardless of where you park, plan on plenty of time to get out of there, i.e. the long walk back to your car in the dark (bring a headlamp!) and the massive line of traffic that will crawl down the 41 or 140.
7. To avoid the biggest crowds, it is highly recommended that you visit in the middle of the week, weather permitting.
8. If you really want that Southside view and less visitors, consider visiting from Feb 11 – 13.  You will still get some orange glow if the falls aren’t blocked by the clouds, but the deep red glow is more predominant after Feb 15.   Southside view is scheduled to be closed from Feb 14 through the end of the month.

 

So why am I not returning?  From what was a fun pilgrimage of 100 or so like minded landscape photographers we now have hordes of photographers and instagrammers pouring into the valley all with hopes of coming back with an epic shot of the Firefall.  For the last two weeks of February, the park has now officially become overrun.  The infrastructure to handle what may spiral to 3000 to 5000 photographers on a busy weekend swarming into limited viewing areas is just not there.   Between the traffic and lines and people staking out their spot and defending it, and screaming at people who set up in front of them or who steal their spot, and trampling sensitive vegetation, and dropping trash everywhere….this isn’t what I come to Yosemite for.  While there is a part of me that would love to get perfect conditions on the Firefall (a mix of clouds and some snow on the walls of the valley would sure be nice but almost impossible to catch on any given night) I need to let other photographers fight it out for that increasingly limited real estate to shoot from….and shoot on days that are hopefully much less crowded.  Last year, I spent 3 weekends in a row shooting the snow in the valley and on several occasions, I was completely alone.  THIS is how I prefer to shoot the park…either alone or with one or two buddies.  But crawling over each other to find a spot to shoot from and sitting in gridlock?  That’s not Yosemite to me.

Again, if you are dead set on getting a shot of the Firefall, just be aware of what you are in for this year and probably for the foreseeable future.  As for me, It turns out I’m off from Feb 16 – 22, and I’ll be spending that time walking along the Oregon Coast, possibly in the pouring rain….without the crowds. :}

For more information on shooting the Firefall Effect in mid to late February, feel free to check out my original article from 2016 at:  http://theresonantlandscape.com/looking-fire-horsetail-fall/

For specific, updated information on new restrictions from the National Park Service, visit:  https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/horsetailfall.htm