February 3-5, 25- 28, 2025

Finished with lunch, a group of us hopped back on the shuttle bus to head the short distance to the Ahwahnee Hotel for a drink at its bar, the one we’ve come to know so well.  We had thought about dining there one of the nights in its famous and beautiful dining room, but for the time being they are only offering a buffet for $68, which though likely worth the price, is not what we had in mind for dining. 

We’ve hit the bar here almost every time we’ve been in the valley, including when we were camping and there is nothing better than sitting out on the patio, enjoying the view while drinking a really good Old Fashioned.  Later, we returned to our rooms and then set out for a parking lot near the base of El Capitan to witness the natural Firefall at Horsetail Fall, where in mid to late February, the waterfall begins to light up 5 to 15 minutes before sunset.

We arrived early, which was a good thing as the lot soon filled up and we enjoyed people watching as an international community, a hallmark of visiting the park, surrounded us as we waited.  Soon enough though, we felt a stirring in the crowd and although it was late in the season for the firefall, what we got to witness was an impressive sight. 

When I was a young boy, under ten years old, during our first few trips to the park we would camp in Lower River Campground.  At our site next to the river, we’d sit in our chairs and wait for the real firefall, a summertime event in which burning embers were pushed from Glacier Point to the valley 3,000 feet below.  The owners of the Glacier Point Hotel conducted the firefall and history has it that David Curry, founder of Camp Curry, would stand at the base of the fall, and yell “Let the fire fall,” each night as a signal to start pushing the embers.  

The firefalls were performed at 9 p.m. seven nights a week as the final act of a performance at Camp Curry.  The historic Firefall ended in January 1968, when National Park Service director George B. Hartzog ordered it to stop because the overwhelming number of visitors trampled the meadows, and because it was not a natural event. The NPS wanted to preserve the valley, returning it to its natural state.  The Glacier Point Hotel was destroyed by fire 18 months later and was not rebuilt.

We shuttled back to the Lodge and later, with the Ahwahnee out for dinner repaired to the Mountain Room Lounge, where we put some tables together and had a nice meal.  I ordered a glass of the Schug Pinot Noir to go along with my Jumbo Loaded Baked Potato (cheddar cheese, sour cream, bacon, pickled jalapeños, scallions, chipotle smoked gouda cheese) and it was more than enough to fill me up for just $12 for the potato.

Another evening in Kim and Marty’s room led to a good night’s sleep and the next morning, after breakfast at Basecamp, Kris and James set out to try and hike up to Vernal Falls while Ken and Brenda had their own hike in mind.  So, Kim, Marty, Gemma and I set out from our rooms to hike the trail down towards El Capitan, which Joanna and I had done before with the two of them.

But we got off track and ended up on the valley loop trail heading to Camp Curry, which is fortuitous as we would end up meeting Kris and James there as they couldn’t get far on the Vernal Trail.  This worked out OK as we had a nice time hiking with Gemma, a good distance for me and meeting up with the guys worked out just tine.   At Curry I checked out the Mountain Store, my favorite high-quality outlet for gear in the Valley and then we all made our way to the Village for another lunch at Denan’s Grill, where I had that good Green Chili Chicken soup again. 

A return to the Lodge brought a relaxing afternoon before we convened for our final dinner there at the Mountain Room, scene for many memorable meals.  Along with sharing a Burrata Cheese with everyone, I had a Campfire Old Fashioned (Makers Mark Bourbon, simple syrup, cardamom & black walnut bitters) and then a glass of the Schug Pinot to accompany a 10 oz Filet with Delmonico Potatoes and Broccoli. 

I was hoping that the bone in pork chop I’d enjoyed our last visit here would be on the menu, but it wasn’t and the option most appealing was the steak, which to be honest was a little disappointing, particularly for $68.  There wasn’t anything wrong with the meal, it just didn’t make much of an impression on me.  You can be sure though that I’ll be back here the next time we visit the park. 

And that would wrap up our visit with Kim, Marty, Brenda, and Ken needing to make an early start for the long drive to Henderson, I took off at the same time for my six-hour drive home.  I stopped briefly in Oakhurst to grab a Payday candy bar that I would wash down with coffee from the thermos, hitting the Costco in Bakersfield for gas for the final 90-minute leg to home.  I was sorry that Joanna and Jessica couldn’t make the trip with us but am sure there will be a next time as we just can’t get enough of this great national park. 

Links

Horsetail Falls: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/horsetailfall.htm

Yosemite Firefall: https://www.yosemite.com/yosemite-mariposa-stories/hello-glacier-point-the-original-yosemite-firefall/