Re: Horsetail Fall 2013

I have been thinking about a year to see the horsetail fall in Feb. I bet the fall is not flowing now. I cross my fingers and hope we could get some snow in next a few weeks.

There is a possibility for rain this weekend. Don't get your hopes up though.

Thursday: Showers. High near 52. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible

I will be in the valley on the Feb 9th for two nights, but I think that is too early.

hotrod,

I heard the best time was last a couple weeks of Feb. Let us know what you found. Have a nice trip!

My trip is a quick family trip, not necessarily for photography or to look for Horsey Tail. It will be my fiance's first time in Yosemite! I am excited to introduce her to the park.

Oh, cool. I am sure your fiancé will enjoy this wonderful park.

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hotrod4x5

I will be in the valley on the Feb 9th for two nights, but I think that is too early.

It's not too early. I've personally seen it lit up on the 10th and 11th of February. Friends of mine of taken photos of it lit up as earth as the 8th.

It's actually at its most "red" during the first part of the three weeks it gets lit up. It's more golden at the end of the three week window. But the light is "right" for a longer period of time during the last two weeks than on the first week (where it might glow for no more than two minutes).

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Boy, all this snow and rain that has already fallen and the expected snow and rain over the next four or five days has got me making plans to come up for a possible Horsetail firefall sighting. I know it's still early and there isn't much wet stuff above El Cap but it's looking a lot better than a week ago.

We can always hope. We are waiting for Badger to open for downhill skiing.

I'll agree with plawrence...the falls were the most red in photos that we have taken on Feb 11. But it is hard to compare, as the last couple of years, the falls have been almost nonexistant when we went later in the month.

I think this next weekend will be the perfect time to go...new snow, hopefully some waterfalls and a full moon for those who may want to venture out at night. (not to mention Valentine's Day and watching the Olympics at Curry Pizza. In 2010, they had on curling, though, while we were eating...) Maybe I should change our reservations...?

hikechick,

Good to know next weekend is perfect time to go. I am so ready for that...

eeek, at the end of the video the falls and sky all became golden. That was gorgeous. Thanks for sharing!

Note at the end of that video it was still photographs from 2007 (not 2013) that the person shot that he included in his video that he took last year. He's states that on his video.

Here's the link he provides for the still shots he took back in 2007 of Horsetail Fall:

http://yosemitedigitalphoto.smugmug.com/Yosemite/Yosemite-Photos/1196986_fTtD99#!i=132375068&k=wWckPhQ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2014 02:17PM by plawrence.

By the way, here's the video I took last year of the Horsetail Fall (on Feb. 14, 2013).

Last year was a very dry year too (almost no water going over the waterfall), but the light was great nevertheless:

(Apologize that my video has no dazzling background music, just the sound
of me crunching around in the snow and zipping and unzipping my camera bag.)

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Thanks Plawrence. You were right that regardless the it was flowing or not, the light was great. It is amazing that the it only lit such a narrow stripe.

I was discussing the possibility of shooting the Horsetail from on top of the South side with a friend of mine and we were wondering what it would look like. I brought up Taft Point, but I told him that you would have to be certifiably insane to shoot around Taft Point when it was covered by snow.

...And then I found this shot by Josh Miller:

Horsetail Falls From Taft Point

It turns out that Taft looks to be a bit too far to the West for the effect, but I sure love how El Cap is lit up and the light off of the snow is amazing. Almost makes me want to risk it for that shot. I saw a couple of shots from Sentinel Dome which look to be a little too far to the East. Maybe from somewhere in the middle?

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MtSacProf

It turns out that Taft looks to be a bit too far to the West for the effect, but I sure love how El Cap is lit up and the light off of the snow is amazing. Almost makes me want to risk it for that shot. I saw a couple of shots from Sentinel Dome which look to be a little too far to the East. Maybe from somewhere in the middle?

Actually Sentinel Dome is lined up pretty nicely and should work. It's ever so slightly to the east of the line of the known viewpoints on valley floor. If one can find an unobstructed view of Horsetail Fall along (or near) the Pohono Trail about 500' east of where the trail crosses Sentinel Creek, that should work also.

Taft Point is too far west, though.

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This is what it looked like on Feb 11 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=771497252879806&set=a.771725232857008.1073741829.450748781621323&type=1&theater



And https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=771497256213139&set=a.771725232857008.1073741829.450748781621323&type=1&permPage=1

Sweet!!!

Thanks for sharing your photos.

.

Wow, these are some excellent photos. Tempting me to go this year. How many days still remain for this year's window?

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Ohnivy-Drak
Wow, these are some excellent photos. Tempting me to go this year. How many days still remain for this year's window?

Typically till around the 23rd, but that is the "best light." You can probably see some nice light till the end of the month.

Read this http://www.michaelfrye.com/articles/horsetail.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2014 09:13AM by hotrod4x5.

Hopefully the small storm that is coming in will drop some more water. On Sunday, the flow was pretty small.

Anyone seen El Cap/Horsetail in the last couple days? Any water running?

I am in park now. Horse tail fall is not flowing. I guess we hv to wait for next year.

Look more carefully, with the rain and snow they've had recently, there should be some water flowing down the fall, though it could be very little.

I just checked the El Capitan webcam, there's definitely water going over Horsetail Fall. Though today is most likely a total washout in regards to the waterfall being lit up since it's currently (at 5:30 PM) overcast with extensive cloud cover in and around Yosemite.

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yang
I am in park now. Horse tail fall is not flowing. I guess we hv to wait for next year.

ha
The fall is VERY tiny. If you have never seen it before, you will likely be shocked at how small it is compared to other falls in the park. Until you know where to look, you could miss it.

Guys, I almost left until i saw this message. So I went back to the picnic area to check again. After I put my 400mm lens, man! I definitely saw it was flowing! I waited till the sunset but it did not turn golden today...

To get the whole falls you need about a 135mm lens on a crop sensor body, or 200 on full frame.

This is the best I got on 2/16/2014. There were probably a hundred photographers standing there. However, when the sun went to the last minute, it just faded out. I'd like to see if anybody got better photos on that day.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2014 09:10AM by yang.

Looks like a good pic to me.

We were on Southside Dr. just east of where most people were and before the sand bar where more people were. Your picture is about what we saw.

We have not been in Yosemite to see Horsetail in quite a few years and was shocked with the number of cars parked along the viewing areas. We had to laugh that they had the parking marked as "event" parking. It took us a few minutes to realize what the event was.

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parklover
We have not been in Yosemite to see Horsetail in quite a few years and was shocked with the number of cars parked along the viewing areas. We had to laugh that they had the parking marked as "event" parking. It took us a few minutes to realize what the event was.

With all the press about Horsetail the last few years it has become quite a zoo. I haven't been to see it later in Feb in over 5 years, but I have been told upwards of 400 people gather to watch it. They close off the right lane of Northside drive and make it parking, and do something similar along Southside. It is nice they acknowledge the need and make accommodations.

The first time I shot it there was maybe half a dozen of us total.

It has been years since we have been there so it was a surprise to see how many people are there now.

I was there on Sunday 2/16 and there was a small fall which the sun hit perfectly as it went down. I am sure on big water years it is spectacular. I have never been in Yosemite for the correct timing of horsetail falls so it was fun to get a glimpse of the magic. Many photographers were there with the BIG cameras. I was surprised how many people and that they closed a lane for parking.
I recommend seeing it if you are there at the right time-

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lilagray
I was there on Sunday 2/16 and there was a small fall which the sun hit perfectly as it went down. I am sure on big water years it is spectacular. I have never been in Yosemite for the correct timing of horsetail falls so it was fun to get a glimpse of the magic. Many photographers were there with the BIG cameras. I was surprised how many people and that they closed a lane for parking.
I recommend seeing it if you are there at the right time-

The fall is very small, even in big years.

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hotrod4x5


The fall is very small, even in big years.

The portion of the Horsetail Fall that gets backlight at sunset is very small.

The actually fall from top to bottom is pretty long, though because of its small watershed above it, it tends to dry up quickly.

On can view the full length of Horsetail Fall from the El Capitan Crossover Bridge. (Though there's no golden glow at sunset from that angle.)

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Here is the view from Monday night (2/17). The crowds weren't too bad. The key is not being there on the weekend...



On Tuesday morning when I was out for sunrise photos, I didn't see anybody else around until I went to breakfast!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2014 08:26AM by vitaminC.

Nice photo Chris! Thanks for sharing.

Can you tell me where you took it? What lens and camera?

This is from the Southside drive viewpoint.

Pentax K5 with Sigma 70-200.

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vitaminC
Here is the view from Monday night (2/17). The crowds weren't too bad. The key is not being there on the weekend...



On Tuesday morning when I was out for sunrise photos, I didn't see anybody else around until I went to breakfast!

Nice image. There definitely is less light behind the fall now compared to my shot. As the month progresses, the wall behind goes more into shadow, isolating the fall.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2014 08:41AM by hotrod4x5.

Thanks!

Yes, we just need some hardy folks to go up there and pour some extra water over the top at the right time!