Yosemite day trip- Vernal falls

The day trip was to see the Firefalls... but before we got to that, we spent the day hiking Vernal falls (as far as we could go safely)..

As long as this girl is next to me.. I seem to be going places.. at least one place a week! 

We saw some amazing landscapes on the way! Here is the day in pictures.. mostly selfies! We started early and were at the park by 9AM.. we took our time taking photos at every vista point...

walking on snow is easier than walking on ice.. especially when it is patchy and you cannot see it! we were all slipping and sliding during many a stretch..

so far it was mostly selfies.. then it got tricky enough that we gave our phones to others to keep the line going and the pictures coming..

There are plenty of nature shots..will post them separately..

Firefalls viewing at Yosemite - a breathtaking experience

Our hiking group has long longed for a trip to Yosemite to see the Firefalls. For those of you not familiar with this, the Horsetail falls in Yosemite gets frozen and when the setting sun falls on this ice and mist, for a few minutes, the falls glows like lava and is called the Firefalls.  It happens over a 15-20 day window in February when most of the other park trails are closed because of ice. It is also a luck of the draw as it has to have rained the previous day and there should be no clouds in the path of the sun on the actual day. 

Many of our friends have made multiple attempts and are yet to see the firefalls.. we took our chances this year and were not disappointed.. we spent a day hiking partly up to Vernal falls till the ice made it too risky for us. Had a nice packed lunch.. then rushed to watch the display that nature put on for us! THis photo is from an iPhone 11 with some editing..

Here are five shots taken with the SLR as the sun went down.. the first one is what the frozen falls looks like before the magic begins..

These pictures don't do justice to what our eyes saw.. every pocket of ice reflects the sun like a diamond and the whole thing shimmers as the sun moves.. something that has to be seen live to experience!

There is also an iPhone photo for comparison that was taking toward the end. The iPhone automatically edits the photo.. for all I know, Apple knowing my location, is running some AI to make the falls look better.. 

and a selfie of a beaming me capturing this..

We took a lot of "Firefies"...

Will do a separate posts on our hike to Vernal falls with pictures!

This whole event lasts 4 to 12 mintues depending on when you go, if you get lucky! For us it was closer to 12 minutes and we got an amazing light show! The previous day was only 4 minute window, per the ranger we spoke to.

Advice to folks who are not pro photographers trying to get a shot.. go an hour early with some blankets and set up! It is a mile and a half walk on icy slippery roads. So expect that to take some time. By the time we got there 30 mintues before, there was no room to put a tripod. So I went behind the crowds into the bushy area and got cut up by thorns in my legs. Could have avoided that if we had been early. 

Also we were lucky that our dinner was in the car. So while a few thousand people all rushed to the parking lots and tried to drive out and gridlocked the whole place, we calmly ate our dinner and then drove out. From 5AM to 11PM, it was a day trip. It was tiring but exhilarating!

This one gets checked off the bucket list!

More in the next post..

Yosemite National Park - Photoblog

We went to Yosemite with the cousins for Thanksgiving. Finally got to edit the "non- people" photos from the trip.

A long trail to "mirror lake" which turned out to be a dry bed with no water! The board said "mirror lake is a misnomer. it is not a lake"

It is a photographers job to make do with whatever water comes our way while on a trail that promised "lake".. so started shooting reflections of the mountains on any and every large puddle.  So here is a series of photos from the puddle shoot. They are all reflections from small puddles.

Then it was time to see the "lake".. 

the views from this dry bed were fantastic. We had a lone buck grazing there..

We walked by a creek on the way back and I got to photograph anything that caught my eye..

from moss to mushrooms..

For once, a reflection from a creek instead of a puddle..

There must be a lot more water there now after the heavy rains from last week.. but it was a good thing we went during Thanksgiving break. Parking was easy to find, less crowded and the trails were not slippery. That helped us with the climb all the way to Nevada falls on the second day. We spent 6 hours on the trail and my legs were wobbling after the fast descent. Should have paced myself. In trying to catch up with the group after taking pictures, did some bad moves and it took a toll on my knees.

We caught both Vernal and Nevada falls. Vernal falls had a lot more water on our last visit. Still it was a pretty sight. 

On the way to our cabins we stopped by the Swinging bridge. There was some water, lots of clouds and the sunset turned the coulds bright red. It was an unforgettable drive but there are no pictures of the sunset. The legs were trembling and it was time to go drink tea in the cabins!

On the third day we visited two trails while heading out of Yosemite. One was the trail for a Carson falls and the other was Rainbow Push. They were both within 15 miles of the west entrance. It started raining heavily and we had to rush through both these trails. It was a vibrant early morning..

Even HDR images do not match what the eyes saw that morning. 

We made it back through pouring rain. It was a great experience to stay in Yosemite for a couple of nights and spend more time in the park. Our earlier trips have all been day trips with one 2-3 hour hike at the most. 

The cabins at Yosemite lake are strongly recommended. Nice, cozy and a decent kitchen. 

The kids thoroughly enjoyed playing board games and the whole cozy cabin experience!

A big thanks to all those who support the National park system!

Time to be thankful..

Thanksgiving as a festival always eludes me. The whole Indians-Pilgrims-Turkey-Corn thingy doesn't strike a chord. 

Since getting married though it has been a means to celebrate Sangeetha and my birthday at nice locations as this holiday falls between our two birthdays. 

People tell me "this is a time to say thanks and be thankful for the good things in your life". If there is one thing to be thankful for in this life, it is family!

For the last 16 years we have mostly spent this long weekend with the cousins family at parks, theme or national..

This year was no different. We went to Yosemite Falls for two days. Got to see some wondeful sights, get way more exercise than we bargained for and had some fun times playing board games in a cozy cabin!

The pictures are promising so far..

San turns 29 again today! I am thankful to her parents for their first creation, who gave me a second chance in life and has made a better person out of me than I would have thought possible.

Here's to San, second chances and family!

Yosemite National Park - Photoblog

We (us and the cousin family) decided to go to Yosemite two days ago. It was supposed to be a day trip. We left at 8AM. Wanted to reach by noon, eat lunch near a river or creek, then go on a trail or hike to a place we have not been to, have dinner at curry village, then go up to glacier point for sunset and be back by 1:00 in the night.

It was a nice plan which we did execute till the lunch part. We had to overcome two obstacles.

a. It was free day and that meant an overwhelming crowd and no parking. We searched for parking for approximately an hour and forty minutes. We were this close to giving up and heading back home when we decided to make one last try and miraculously we found parking. It was a good thing we did not give up because we definitely would have missed some great sights.

b. The 0.8 mile hike to the foot bridge at Vernal falls was supposed to be mild difficulty. It was mild for healthy men and women who looked like horses with not an ounce of fat on their bodies and had rippling muscles to show! The me who has not seen any exercise in years and had to hike the paved trail which was at a 60 degree angle was struggling to just keep up.

Again the kids co-operated on flat terrain and protested during inclines. The older kids starting saying things like "my heart hurts" or "my lung aches". We kept promising a most beautiful sight, just like the other parents on the trail. The older kids really enjoyed it when we finally got there but the three/ four year olds were just bummed out.

At one point the little one just lifted her hand heavenward and said "thookie" (lift me). On any day, would just lift her up, give her a big kiss and carry her. Not on this hike. She pleaded and I made the mistake of lifting her. Immediately all eyes were on me. Every parent on the trail promptly reprimanded me indirectly or directly for setting a bad example. All the kids started lifting their hands up and saying "thookie" in their respective mother tongues! Apparently lifting kids on trails like this is banned. I just didn't know.

But we all did pull through to the foot bridge and it was gorgeous. Suddenly there was a cool mist as the river gushed through rocks. There were rainbows everywhere. The temperature dropped a good ten degrees. There was a water fountain and a rest room!

After spending almost a half hour at the bridge, the ladies and kids made their way back to the MIL who wisely stayed put at the trailhead. Balaji and me decided to go on the rest of the trail towards the top of the falls. It was the most exercise I have ever gotten in any two hours but was worth it!

After coming back, have decided to start working out more seriously so more such adventures can be enjoyed without getting bummed out too soon..

The self imposed ban on fries, chips and sodas and the local biking has definitely helped, but not enough to go on hikes. I am very much a work in progress...

On the bright side, I did get creative during the last hike. It was difficult enough to carry my own bodyweight. So ditched the tripod with the ladies and took only the camera and used my hat as a camera stand of sorts for self timer. The iPhone doubled up as a camcorder..

If you go on this hike, take one of those Niagara falls type raincoats with you. Should come in handy to protect the camera from getting wet as you go up.

All said and done, another great local trip.

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