Cold days in the middle of Winter doesn’t always draw a lot of people to Yosemite Valley. The one exception is a short lived phenomenon in which the shadow of El Capitan sweeps across the face of the cliffs to align perfectly with Horsetail Fall causing the waterfall to glow in the dazzling colors of the setting sun. The effect gives the impression of falling lava or fire reminiscent of Yosemite’s famous Firefall where hot glowing embers were pushed off the cliffs of Glacier Point creating literally falling fire that could be seen from the valley floor. The Firefall event was discontinued in 1968 by the National Park Service in part due to huge crowds it drew and that it was not a naturally occurring event.

But sometimes nature is more clever than we think and had been having its own version of Firefall each February for thousands of years but it wasn’t really noticed until 1973 when photographer Galen Rowell snapped his now famous photograph of Horsetail Fall glowing in the evening sun. Since that time each February photographers and nature lovers have been flocking to Yosemite to witness the natural version. The event has become so popular that the National Park Service now sections of areas to accommodate special parking.

As is often the case with nature, the show varies from day to day and year to year and even minute to minute. Weather can make or break the event and as often is the case it may not occur at all. Clouds cause many to give up early and head down the long road for home only to have the sun pop out at the last minute creating fantastic light that lasts just a few minutes and then is gone. Drought in California made this year very questionable but a bit of snow and a last minute rainstorm caused the fall to spring to life. If you arrive early Horsetail Fall may be barely flowing but as the sun warms the High Sierra, the snow melts and the waterfall's flow picks up. So be sure to stick it out to the last minute. Thi