Tuesday, February 17. Until 1940, the path behind this gate was the main road from the north into the Valley. A slide closed it in 1945. Since then it's been slowly reclaimed by washouts, landslides, fallen trees, and new growth.

El Capitan in the foreground and Half Dome in the distance. In places, there is still a respectable roadbed.

There are remains of lots of impressive rock work. And here it's clear this is a road no more.

About a mile and a half in, I stopped. This would have been the third rockfall I would have had to clamber over. The road resumes in only 50 feet or so, but the huge "end-of-the-road" slide was just getting close.

Bridalveil Meadow below.

Coming back: the forested sections are definitely more "trail-like" than "road-like".

Bridalveil Falls. The wind is blowing the falls to the left.

Old pavement.

The old road is not an officially maintained trail. Three years ago, at the 2012 Yosemite Conservancy Spring Celebration, there was going to be ranger-led hike here. It rained. All the rock jumbles and downed trees do not make for safe walking when wet. We did the Wawona Road instead. Today, I finally got back.

Oak gall.

The almost obligatory stop at the Valley View turnout near the Pohono Bridge. The winter scene can be very different ...

Compare that with this picture from January 10, 2014. It's in the shade, but look closely: Bridalveil Falls was just a tiny thread.

I made my way to the other side of El Capitan, to a riverside spot about 1/3 mile west of the Yellow Pine Picnic Area.

It was two hours before sunset, but the photographers were already gathering. Having just a hand-held camera, I was free to explore the area for a while.

The object of all this interest is Horsetail falls up there on the side of El Capitan. Not much water this year, unfortunately.

Late afternoon light on the Merced River.

North Dome, Cloud's Rest, and Half Dome, all above the Merced. Not much snow up there.

4:55. Sunset is about 45 minutes away. Time to return to the viewpoint.

5:15. Sunset in about 25 minutes. The crowds are gathering.

5:25. As sunset approaches, the sun-lit area on El Capitan narrows down to the waterfall area ... but the water itself became harder to see.

5:35. Maximum fire? The water is the gray streaks in front of the red rocks. I never saw the water glowing. Not the right day or not enough water.

5:37. Here's the larger picture. This is a modestly wide angle, but it's still the case that the illuminated waterfall is a small piece of a much larger landscape.

5:39. Last light before the sun sets.

After dinner at the Lodge, I checked into my cabin at Camp Curry.