Fire Falls in Yosemite – What is it?

At the end of January and the beginning of February, you’ve probably seen posts and news about the fire falls in Yosemite. I actually had my eye on this during the end of 2015 but I missed it in 2016. As you may know now, Yosemite National Park is one of my favorite national parks in California. It came to my surprise though that it received much more press than I expected for this fire falls phenomenon.

So what is this Fire Falls? Keeping it short and sweet, it is basically horsetail fall getting lit during sunset in the month of February. With the right cloud conditions (minimal to no clouds), horsetail fall is illuminated during golden hour. The angle the sun hits the fall gives it an illusion of lava flowing down. This particular waterfall, horsetail falls, free falls off the gigantic rock called El Capitan. It’s fairly hard to locate this waterfall because it’s a thin ribbon waterfall, unlike those Oregon waterfalls. During the California drought, the horsetail fall is definitely nonexistent.

The best spot to view the Fire Fall phenomenon

The fire falls in Yosemite can be seen at several spots in the Yosemite Valley. During February, the park rangers will set up cones to designate additional parking spots to view this spectacular phenomenon. As the day gets closer to sunset, you will notice a crowd of cars parked along the road. If you plan to photograph the fire fall phenomenon, make sure to scout the area early to reserve your spot. Come prepared with reading materials and food because once you’ve found your parking spot, you do not want to give it up.

Make sure you have your Yosemite valley map handy. If you are heading east on southside drive, you’ll start to see parking spots to view the fire fall after you pass catherdral beach. If you are heading west on northside drive, be on the lookout for additional parking spots as you arrive and pass the El Capitan picnic area. The sun sets on the west side of Yosemite valley and it’s best to view the fire fall phenomenon from the east side. The two side by side images above gives you an idea of what it looks like just minutes before horsetail fall gets lit!

Tips from my experience

Everyone’s experience will be different but use my experience to make yours unforgettable.

1. Get there early and find the perspective you want for your shot.
2. Be prepared for the crowd. And a lot of shutter clicks.
3. Bring a hammock or a camp chair. You don’t want critters crawling up.
4. Bring food and friends to entertain you.
5. Bring a tripod, zoom lens, and a remote transmitter. Your tripod will be used to reserve your spot and hold your camera #1. The zoom lens will give you a good shot. 24mm won’t suffice here. The remote transmitter will let you shoot hands-free and use multiple camera bodies.

The post Fire Falls in Yosemite appeared first on christopherkhoitran.

For National Park Week, absolutely all state parks in the United States are free of charge until April 24th, which means it’s time to get out there and explore!

The annual National Park Week is a celebration organized to encourage people to get out and visit the natural treasures the country has to offer. And they do this by making absolutely every national park free to enter for the duration of the event! Just let that sink in: you can tour all of California’s gorgeous desert parks,  every single one of Utah’s buffet of beautiful canyon park, all of Arizona’s stunning red rock formations, for absolutely nothing at all. Though camping fees still apply, this still comes as fantastic news for travelers on a budget, so grab your hiking boots and look up a park already!

Campers and backpackers nationwide gave a collective groan last year when steep admissions increases were announced for several of the most prominent state parks. Big attractions like Yosemite and Yellowstone saw a modest $5-10 fee hike for single cars, but other increases were more exorbitant. Arches National Park in Utah, for example, doubled from $25 to $50. And that wasn’t even the worst of it. Fees for Grand Teton in Wyoming shot up from $5 to $30, and several other prominent parks followed suit. All the more reason to take advantage of the bargain event.

This is a particularly special occasion for the US Parks’ service, since this year marks their centennial anniversary. Even if you miss out on National Park Week, be on the lookout for more celebratory events and free days later in the year. The next chances you’ll get will be: August 24-28th (for the NPS 100th Birthday Celebration), September 24th (for National Public Lands Day), and November 11 (for Veteran’s Day). If you still don’t know where to visit, make use of the NPS’s fantastic park finder here, and enjoy National Parks Week!

The post National Park Week – Free Admission appeared first on christopherkhoitran.

Among California park rangers and desert-hiking explorers, the Death Valley super bloom is a near-mythical event. The wildflower bloom occurs only under very specific conditions, with the last one seen in 2005. However, does the natural display live up to the incredible hype? In terms of awe-inspiring desert photography, few things arouse as much excitement as the Death Valley super bloom. The event is characterized by waves of dusty gold, purple, and white wildflowers as far as the eye can see. When it happens, the response is absolutely enormous. Hotels are already booked until mid-April, with callers checking in daily for cancellations. Rooms are being taken for up to $600 apiece, with the nearest vacancies located miles away. Camping is probably your best bet at this point; Death Valley offers several camping grounds, some free, such as Wildrose and Thorndike, some with a nominal fee, like Furnace Creek.

The Death Valley super bloom is how the desert vegetation has adapted to the region’s harsh conditions. In Death Valley, the survival strategy is not persistence, but patience. Few things are built to survive long in the desert; instead, the wildflowers ‘wait’ until that halcyon moment, then bloom en masse in a phenomenal flood of life. By blossoming simultaneously in such large numbers, the wildflower fields can hope to attract pollinators such as bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies that don’t normally venture into Death Valley.

The Death Valley super bloom requires an unusual amount of heavy, constant rainfall in the autumn months. These rains serve to wash away the outer coating of the wildflower seeds, which lie dormant for years at a time. If the area receives at least a half inch of rain, the seeds can sprout and begin setting down root networks that will explode in colorful petals in the coming months. The region normally gets only 2 inches of rain per year, with harsh dry winds blowing through to evaporate every shred of moisture available.

Last October’s abnormally heavy desert rains brought 3 inches of rain in just five hours, which many predicted would precipitate this year’s Death Valley super bloom, the first since 2005. The super bloom occurs in waves of blossoms instead of all-at-once. That being said, the event has been ongoing since mid-February, and the sprouts at lower elevations are already past their prime. Reports from March 9th indicate that a stretch of intensely hot weather, followed by a dry windstorm, have destroyed much of these lower elevation blooms, leaving little left for the casual observer.

As of March 19-20th when these photos were taken, that certainly seems to be the case. These images are from Artist’s Drive, Badwater Basin Road, and the road to the Mesquite Sand Dunes, and clearly show the thinned-out fields after the reported heat and dry winds. There are absolutely still signs of life, but the prime of the Death Valley super bloom seems to have passed. In fact, looking online, it seems like this year’s super bloom was a bit overhyped, and unfairly so: a lot of images used by media coverage of the event are actually from the 2005 super bloom. It’s a tremendous shame, but it looks as though we might need to wait another decade to see what the super bloom is really all about.

If you’re still interested in trying your luck with the 2016 Death Valley super bloom, the National Park Service has provided a useful map of the remaining super bloom fields, and is current as of March 16th.

All photos were taken with the Sony a7ii mirrorless camera, Sony 16-35mm F4 lens, and Sony 70-200m E-mount lens.

The post Death Valley Super Bloom appeared first on christopherkhoitran.