Welcome! Log In Create A New Profile Recent Posts
Yosemite Valley

The Moon is Waxing Crescent (31% of Full)

JanSport - Accept no Imitations. The Original Backpack since 1967.


Advanced

Re: Firefall

All posts are those of the individual authors and the owner of this site does not endorse them. Content should be considered opinion and not fact until verified independently.

avatar Firefall
February 12, 2010 04:46PM
No gas money to make it this year sad smiley

I trust you will post photos...nice sunny warm weather this go around
avatar Re: Firefall
February 12, 2010 05:12PM
Quote
Vince
No gas money to make it this year sad smiley

What was the excuse last year?
avatar Re: Firefall
February 12, 2010 06:00PM
Quick, what are the good days?



Old Dude
Re: Firefall
February 12, 2010 07:43PM
TV before stupid ED, diaper, and other TMI ads.

Disclosure: I tuned in to the Winter Olympics a half-hour early, suffered through all the above.

Sorry, but I'm a real underachiever when it comes to TV.

And Nodar was one of us, understanding the risks, but pushing on.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 12, 2010 08:22PM
Last year was clouds, Ask Bee. This year...no gas money.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 12, 2010 08:27PM
Quote
Vince
Last year was clouds, Ask Bee. This year...no gas money.

I asked why you didn't show up, not why it wasn't good.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 12, 2010 11:48PM
Again when are the good days?



Old Dude
avatar Re: Firefall
February 12, 2010 08:38PM
Was there. Camped out. No sun, no eeek either
avatar Re: Firefall
February 12, 2010 11:52PM
Quote
Vince
no eeek either

I didn't say I was going to be there. You did.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 13, 2010 08:13AM
avatar Re: Firefall
February 13, 2010 10:30AM
I finally had to find out for myself. Damn. The last two weeks of February it seems. I'm supposing that there is a "best" day in there where the sun shines on the most of the fall but this day might not be in the middle of the two weeks. Sometime last year someone posted a site that displayed the sunshine on the fall as the two weeks progressed. Ring any bells? Here: http://www.michaelfrye.com/articles/horsetail.html
Anyway I'm going to go and try to get some video.



Old Dude



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/2010 10:53AM by mrcondron.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 13, 2010 10:55AM
yeah, each day is a guessing game... sun, clouds, fog etc, they all play a part, and ya never know which day will be the one.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 13, 2010 10:59AM
I asked the author of the article if he could give a date for the best sun angle day this year. (I get solstice headaches) No assurances everything will come together that day but I think it's a good day to be there. There should be plenty of water this year and it looks like there will be clear skies from the SJ valley right up into Yosemite Valley starting Wednesday the 17th and lasting at least a few days. This may turn out to be a banner year.



Old Dude



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/2010 11:02AM by mrcondron.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 13, 2010 12:09PM
If it's going to be real clear, can you see it from Turlock? Grinning Devil
avatar Re: Firefall
February 13, 2010 12:12PM
Nah. Just HD and the top of El Cap.



Old Dude
avatar Re: Firefall
February 13, 2010 03:36PM
Quote
mrcondron
This may turn out to be a banner year.

Yadda, yadda, yadda....Maybe I will go, but only if "Firefarce" is the last thing on a healthy list of other interesting things to do that day!

B
avatar Re: Firefall
February 15, 2010 06:52PM
Quote
Bee
Quote
mrcondron
This may turn out to be a banner year.

Yadda, yadda, yadda....Maybe I will go, but only if "Firefarce" is the last thing on a healthy list of other interesting things to do that day!

B
Firefarce is right. We were there 20th of Feb. last year. Typical gorgeous Winter day in the Sierra.
And kaboom... clouds roll in just when the firefart is suppose to go.

Too much of a crapper shoot. Anybody there this Sat or Sun night probably had a no show also. (we were at Yosemite Pt.)
avatar Re: Firefall
February 15, 2010 06:54PM
I'm going Thursday but just for the day. Everything is supposed to be clear to the coast.



Old Dude
avatar Re: Firefall
February 16, 2010 07:41AM
Quote
mrcondron
I'm going Thursday but just for the day. Everything is supposed to be clear to the coast.

Good luck. You will need it.
Maybe can try again Sunday night...
smiling smiley



Chick-on is looking at you!
avatar Re: Firefall
February 16, 2010 07:34PM
Firefart!!!!!Head rollSmiling dogpileRolling on floor laugh
avatar Re: Firefall
February 17, 2010 05:09AM
Where is the best spot in Yosemite to see this event and, has anyone had success in August (6 months from Feb, sun should be in the same position) as well?



The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan
avatar Re: Firefall
February 17, 2010 06:22AM
Definitive site on photographing the fall:

http://www.michaelfrye.com (Front Page of site)

http://www.michaelfrye.com/landscape-photography-blog/2010/02/01/its-that-time-of-year-again/ (Horsetail Fall page)



Old Dude
avatar Re: Firefall
February 17, 2010 06:29AM
Quote
Frank Furter
Where is the best spot in Yosemite to see this event and, has anyone had success in August (6 months from Feb, sun should be in the same position) as well?

August? You're missing a key ingredient.... water.



Chick-on is looking at you!
avatar Re: Firefall
February 17, 2010 07:39AM
Quote
chick-on
Quote
Frank Furter
Where is the best spot in Yosemite to see this event and, has anyone had success in August (6 months from Feb, sun should be in the same position) as well?

August? You're missing a key ingredient.... water.


Maybe we can petition the NPS to turn the spigot back on.
(The sun would also not be in the proper position in August, anyway. It would be in the latter part of October, approx. 60 days before the winter solstice since the February "opportunity" is approx. 60 days after the winter solstice.)
avatar Re: Firefall
February 14, 2010 11:13AM
i'm going to try to go there wednesday myself. driving up there only for a possible shot of the falls.
Re: Firefall
February 14, 2010 11:54PM
I was there today, camped out with the rest of the photogs. Conditions seemed favorable. Good amount of water, clear skies, and a lot of anticipation. But it was a no show.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 15, 2010 12:19AM
There was a lot of fog type stuff over in the west near the coast today. It probably blocked the sun even though there was clear skies at the valley. Hopefully Thursday will be clear all the way out to sea.



Old Dude
Re: Firefall
February 17, 2010 08:53AM
Fresno Bee photographer got it. Front page.

http://fresnobeehive.com/photos/2010/02/17/fire-on-high.html

I sent Bee a copy for her to post...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2010 08:58AM by wagga.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 17, 2010 09:41AM
WOW! That's nice.

Where was that taken from? The angle is different from what I've see before. top of Eagle peak?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2010 09:47AM by qumqats.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 18, 2010 05:49PM
Nice pic of the firefall a couple posts above. Lucky shot.

The sun angle only occurs in Feb because of the angle of the earth's axis of rotation, which is not pointing toward the sun during the winter solstice (thus, during august there would never be a firefall even if there were water falling, which there isn't).
avatar Re: Firefall
February 18, 2010 06:53PM
Quote
Vince
The sun angle only occurs in Feb because of the angle of the earth's axis of rotation, which is not pointing toward the sun during the winter solstice (thus, during august there would never be a firefall even if there were water falling, which there isn't).

Sorry, Vince. The sun angle occurs twice per year. The only angles that occur once are the solstice angles.

avatar Re: Firefall
February 19, 2010 07:34AM
Quote
eeek
Quote
Vince
The sun angle only occurs in Feb because of the angle of the earth's axis of rotation, which is not pointing toward the sun during the winter solstice (thus, during august there would never be a firefall even if there were water falling, which there isn't).

Sorry, Vince. The sun angle occurs twice per year. The only angles that occur once are the solstice angles.



See the following two links:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/eclip.html#c2
http://www.dur.ac.uk/john.lucey/users/solar_year.html

Note especially the graph of Declination vs. Right Ascension shown in the third figure of the second link. Except for the two solstices, there are two days during the year at which the sun appears at the same angle with respect to the earth's equator. These days are symmetrical with respect to their deviation from the solstices. The approximately +60 days from the Winter Solstice to the February Firefall period has its mirror image in the -60 days in October where the sun appears at the same angle.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2010 07:35AM by szalkowski.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 18, 2010 07:44PM
No, eeeek, the sun angle that occurs to light the Firefall occurs only ONCE per year.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 18, 2010 07:48PM
Quote
Vince
No, eeeek, the sun angle that occurs to light the Firefall occurs only ONCE per year.

Sure it does, VD. Pat...pat...
avatar Re: Firefall
February 18, 2010 08:10PM
The sun shines there twice a year, 60 days or so after each of the two solstices. In the period after the summer solstice there is no water to go over the fall therefore no fire fall effect.



Old Dude
avatar Re: Firefall
February 18, 2010 08:11PM
Quote
mrcondron
In the period after the summer solstice there is no water to go over the fall therefore no fire fall effect.

There might have been some water this year. We had a wet fall and the angle should be right sometime in October.
avatar Re: Firefall
February 18, 2010 08:14PM
"It could happen."
Judy Tenuta



Old Dude
avatar Re: Firefall
February 19, 2010 12:18PM
Those posting on this forum who get out regularly to ski or snowshoe should not be exhibiting signs of cabin fever evident in this thread.

eye rolling smiley
avatar Re: Firefall
February 20, 2010 03:18AM
Ever notice the earliest sunset and the latest sunrise have nothing to do with the winter solstice?
avatar Re: Firefall
February 20, 2010 12:39PM
Quote
Vince
Ever notice the earliest sunset and the latest sunrise have nothing to do with the winter solstice?


Actually, they do. It is just that they are not coincident with it.

Read the following to understand why:
http://www.larry.denenberg.com/earliest-sunset.html

Also see:
<http://www.astro.uu.nl/~strous/AA/en/antwoorden/zonpositie.html#14_2>;
avatar Re: Firefall
October 24, 2010 08:39PM
Quote
Vince
Ever notice the earliest sunset and the latest sunrise have nothing to do with the winter solstice?

What makes you think that is relevant?
avatar Re: Firefall
February 20, 2010 04:18AM
Oh, for Old Tyme's Sake


Re: Firefall
October 14, 2011 09:07PM
Quote
Vince
Oh, for Old Tyme's Sake


Cool vid. GP via mule? Only on a special occasion such as Huel Howser, of did they used to do this regularly?
avatar Re: Firefall
October 14, 2011 11:40PM
Quote
hotrod4x5

Cool vid. GP via mule? Only on a special occasion such as Huel Howser, of did they used to do this regularly?

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure pack animals (horses, mules) are still allowed on the Four Mile Trail. It's just not as popular as it once was.
avatar Re: Firefall
October 19, 2011 08:16AM
Quote
plawrence
Quote
hotrod4x5

Cool vid. GP via mule? Only on a special occasion such as Huel Howser, of did they used to do this regularly?

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure pack animals (horses, mules) are still allowed on the Four Mile Trail. It's just not as popular as it once was.

Horses are not permitted off the valley floor without a guide... so that probably eliminates 99.99% of horse riders going up ...



Chick-on is looking at you!
avatar Re: Firefall
October 19, 2011 10:14AM
Quote
chick-on
Quote
plawrence
Quote
hotrod4x5

Cool vid. GP via mule? Only on a special occasion such as Huel Howser, of did they used to do this regularly?

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure pack animals (horses, mules) are still allowed on the Four Mile Trail. It's just not as popular as it once was.

Horses are not permitted off the valley floor without a guide... so that probably eliminates 99.99% of horse riders going up ...


I didn't find any such restrictions listed on the horseback riding and stock use regulations webpage of Yosemite's official website:

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/stock.htm



avatar Re: Firefall
October 19, 2011 02:02PM
OK. I was just going by what the signs at the Trailheads actually say.
The Yosemite Falls trail is actually relatively new ... and it says 'no horses without guides'.
The 4 Mile TH sign is very old sign... and it says the same thing.
Without a doubt they had guided trips up those trails in the past... now they only
have guided trips to Clarks Pt. and Mirror Lake.
So probably they made a new Yose Falls trail and copied it ... but shouldn't have put those
words on it... and you can go up 4 Mile and Yose Falls with a horse..
but with the amount of foot traffic on those trails... Anyone that does it.. probably only
does it once and says never again.
Horse riders probably call Yosemite and they probably greatly discourage valley horse use.
Give them a call and ask.



Chick-on is looking at you!
Re: Firefall
October 19, 2011 02:25PM
Everytime we go to Yosemite my youngest son fondly(?) remembers our Mirror Lake Horse trip and the horse that bit him on the leg. Even at the time, it was pretty funny for all of us except maybe the youngest son.
avatar Re: Firefall
October 19, 2011 06:38PM
I hiked the Yosemite Falls trail last March and understood the sign to refer to rental horses. Didn't parse it too closely, since I don't have a horse, but...
avatar Re: Firefall
October 19, 2011 09:31PM
The Snow Creek Falls trail also has the same wording.. and according to the website...
horses are no longer allowed up that trail. Why? beats me. Of the 3 (YF, 4M, and SC) Snow
in-doob-a-dably is the least used.

Anywho: Here's the signs:




Snow Creek:




Chick-on is looking at you!
avatar Re: Firefall
October 19, 2011 09:50PM
Have to remember what I saw that made me think the reference was to rented horses only, as the sign would seem otherwise clear.

However, the NPS website says "private stock" are allowed, though not recommended, on the Yosemite Falls trail. Snow Creek Trail is listed as prohibited.

Horse Rules
avatar Re: Firefall
October 19, 2011 10:25PM
Maybe the question that needs to be ask is "What qualifies someone to be a guide?" in this context. Someone who is familiar with the trail? Someone who has filled out an official "guide permit" if there is one? Is there any official qualification to be considered a "Guide" that's able to lead horses up one of these trails?

The Park Service shouldn't confuse people like this – stating one thing on their website and then stating something different on their trail signs.


avatar Re: Firefall
October 20, 2011 07:23AM
I stand by what I said. It's just old wording on old signs or reproduced signs.
There are a number of signs that are not entirely correct... or some turkey
think it's a good idea to call The Tuolumne Meadows High Sierra Camp a Lodge
to fool the average bird.

Here's 1920 Rules and Regs portion with horse trips:
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/brochures/1920/yose/sec7.htm



Chick-on is looking at you!
avatar Re: Firefall
October 19, 2011 01:03PM
Quote
chick-on
Horses are not permitted off the valley floor without a guide... so that probably eliminates 99.99% of horse riders going up ...

All horses or just the rentals?
avatar Re: Firefall
October 19, 2011 06:09PM
Quote
eeek
Quote
chick-on
Horses are not permitted off the valley floor without a guide... so that probably eliminates 99.99% of horse riders going up ...

All horses or just the rentals?

You need not worry. You can bring up your horse anytime.



Chick-on is looking at you!
avatar Re: Firefall
October 24, 2010 08:41PM
I heard a rumor that Horsetail is flowing and tomorrow's forecast looks good. And for Vincey: http://blog.andrewkee.com/2010/02/23/photographing-yosemites-horsetail-falls/
avatar Re: Firefall
October 24, 2010 09:38PM
I can only say that it certainly wasn't flowing on Friday...
Got a shot of where the recent rockfall was though...
avatar Re: Firefall
October 24, 2010 09:54PM
Quote
bill-e-g
I can only say that it certainly wasn't flowing on Friday...

It has rained since then.
avatar Re: Firefall
October 24, 2010 10:05PM
Quote
eeek
Quote
bill-e-g
I can only say that it certainly wasn't flowing on Friday...

It has rained since then.

Yes it has.
smiling smiley

Can you tell it to please not rain next weekend?
avatar Re: Firefall
October 25, 2010 12:57AM
Quote
bill-e-g
Can you tell it to please not rain next weekend?

Sorry:

LONGER RANGE MODELS SHOW A RETURN OF THE WET WEATHER TOWARD FRIDAY AS ANOTHER STRONG TROF MOVES INTO THE REGION. WILL KEEP A MENTION OF POSSIBLE PRECIP FROM FRIDAY MORNING INTO NEXT WEEKEND. WHILE MODEL UNCERTAINTY EXIST FOR THE NEXT STORM...THE UNCERTAINTY BETWEEN THE GFS AND ECMWF IS ONLY BY HOURS. THEREFORE...WILL START THE PRECIP FRIDAY MORNING...BUT NOT TERMINATE IT UNTIL LATER ON SATURDAY.
avatar Re: Firefall
October 17, 2011 02:17AM
Wow, its good to see that Huel Howser was a douche 20 years ago.

"Were the bears friendly?"
Re: Firefall
October 17, 2011 06:31AM
Quote
oakroscoe
Wow, its good to see that Huel Howser was a douche 20 years ago.

"Were the bears friendly?"
He's asking questions, somewhat, for the lowest common denominator. There are a LOT of people in this world who know nothing about wild animals. Many have never been out of the city.
avatar Re: Firefall
October 17, 2011 07:13AM
Quote
hotrod4x5
Quote
oakroscoe
Wow, its good to see that Huel Howser was a douche 20 years ago.

"Were the bears friendly?"
He's asking questions, somewhat, for the lowest common denominator. There are a LOT of people in this world who know nothing about wild animals. Many have never been out of the city.


Ol' Huell is the benchmark for the LCD.
avatar Re: Firefall
October 17, 2011 09:50AM
Quote
hotrod4x5
He's asking questions, somewhat, for the lowest common denominator.

Himself?
avatar Better Than The Firefall: The Chickendrop
October 19, 2011 06:37PM
Excerpted from "One Hundred Years in Yosemite" by Carl P. Russell:
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/one_hundred_years_in_yosemite/



It is believed that the first firefall from Glacier Point was the work of James McCauley in 1871 or 1872. He sold his trail to the state. His Mountain House was operated on a lease basis from the commissioners. One of his visitors of the early ’eighties was Derrick Dodd, who concocted something of a classic in the way of Glacier Point stories. It is too good to pass into oblivion.

DERRICK DODD’S TOUGH STORY
As a part of the usual programme, we experimented as to the time taken by different objects in reaching the bottom of the cliff. An ordinary stone tossed over remained in sight an incredibly long time, but finally vanished somewhere about the middle distance. A handkerchief with a stone tied in the corner, was visible perhaps a thousand feet deeper; but even an empty box, watched by a field-glass, could not be traced to its concussion with the Valley floor. Finally, the landlord appeared on the scene, carrying an antique hen under his arm. This, in spite of the terrified ejaculations and entreaties of the ladies, he deliberately threw over the cliff’s edge. A rooster might have gone thus to his doom in stoic silence, but the sex of this unfortunate bird asserted itself the moment it started on its awful journey into space. With an ear-piercing cackle that gradually grew fainter as it fell, the poor creature shot downward; now beating the air with ineffectual wings, and now frantically clawing at the very wind, that slanted her first this way and then that: thus the hapless fowl shot down, down, until it became a mere fluff of feathers no larger than a quail. Then it dwindled to a wren’s size, disappeared, then again dotted the sight a moment as a pin’s point, and then—it was gone!

After drawing a long breath all round, the women folks pitched into the hen’s owner with redoubled zest. But the genial McCauley shook his head knowingly, and replied:

“Don’t be alarmed about that chicken, ladies. She’s used to it. She goes over that cliff every day during the season.”

And, sure enough, on our road back we met the old hen about half up the trail, calmly picking her way home!
avatar Re: Better Than The Firefall: The Chickendrop
October 19, 2011 09:33PM
It should have stayed in oblivion...



Chick-on is looking at you!
avatar Re: Better Than The Firefall: The Chickendrop
October 20, 2011 12:49PM
Quote
chick-on
It should have stayed in oblivion...


What will the chikin do if bill-e-g discovers that real chickens don't need to be carried everywhere?
(Ambulatorily Yours)
The Marmots
Re: Better Than The Firefall: The Chickendrop
October 19, 2011 11:23PM
Gad! I haven't seen that story in print in years, and I've often wondered just how it would be received during these uber-PC days. Nice to see the Yosemite history of olden days show up once in a while, however.
avatar Re: Firefall
October 20, 2011 05:12AM
One of chick-ons ancestors...
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login