Horsetail Firefall at Yosemite

Horsetail Fall from Southside Drive

One of the great things about California is just how easy it is to run off and go check out an amazing waterfall on a whim. 

This morning I drove out to Yosemite National Park in the hopes I'd be lucky enough to see a firefall.

The firefall sometimes appears around the second or third week of February.  At this time of year, the sun is at the right angle to illuminate Horsetail Fall on El Capitan with orange light ... if the fall is flowing and there are no clouds in the sky.

Yosemite From Above

El Capitan

You have to love a conversation ends up at: "Hey, let's go fly to Yosemite Valley next weekend."

A few days later we had a plane reserved and the plan unfolded.

We took off from the same airport as last time, leaving early to keep the weather in our favor.

On the way out I rode in the backseat.  I'd forgotten how cold it can get up there.  My fleece was completely insufficient so I spent most of the ride out huddled in a ball to conserve my waning body heat.

That all changed when we reached the valley, however.  I spent the rest of the flight with my Sony NEX and Canon 50mm/f1.8 trained out the window.

Pullin' a Gingrich

Betsy has been at the Landcruiser hospital for almost 2 weeks now getting her leaky fuel injectors tested, rebuilt and re-installed.

What am I supposed to do in the meantime? Well, I decided to take a lesson from Newt Gingrich and rent a mistress.

Hookipa Beach Lookout

My last stop, at the Hookipa Beach Lookout just outside Pa'ia, Maui.

Unfortunately it's come time to step away from Maui's alure.  I really want to come back and find a way to linger but for now I am bound to cover more ground.

Highway 31 & 37 from Hana

This morning I got up early, made breakfast, packed my gear and checked out of Joe's Place.  I pondered whether I had time to check out the red sand beach in town but decided instead to give myself plenty of time to get to and enjoy Waimoku falls.

Pipiwai Trail to Waimoku Falls on Maui

Just a few miles outside of Hana you find the Kipahulu area of Haleakalā National Park.  The feature I was mainly interested in was the hike on the Pipiwai trail to Waimoku Falls.

The hike starts near the ranger station at the Kipahulu entraance to the national park.

Along the way to the falls, you pass through bamboo forest, guava forest and banyan trees.

Waiʻanapanapa near Hana, Maui

After recuperating in the car at Haleakala, I set off on the Hana Highway.  I drove about 50 miles through beautiful, lush tropical scenery as the road twisted and turned at an unfathomable rate.  Seriously, I love twisty roads but I've never driven one so compact as this.

Haleakalā at Sunrise

This morning I set my alarm for 4AM, slept until 5 and was on the road 15 minutes later.  Last night I prepped my gear and food and was ready to simply get up and roll.  I arrived at the observation deck an hour later and climbed up the trail to the top of the cinder cone while it was still dark.

Why I Wrote "Why I'll Never Return Anywhere"

Nomadic Matt recently published a self-described Op-Ed in the Huffington Post travel section titled "Why I'll Never Return to Vietnam".  In it, he describes a litany of negative experiences he had while backpacking on a tight budget and concludes that he'll never return (but then goes on to list all the circumstances under which he would).

As you can infer from the title, the post is quite inflammatory and has generated a fair bit of controversy as well as my own satire.  Unfortunately, the controversy is mostly misguided, often focusing on Matt's credibility and questioning whether or not he ever went to Vietnam at all.

Haleakalā at Sunset

A short climb from the observation deck.

Today I left Honolulu on an early flight to Maui.  One of my goals is to photograph the summit of Haleakalā, the dormant volcano that comprises most of the island.

At 10,000 feet, the summit reaches above the clouds yielding an astounding display of color and light on the landscape when conditions are right.