Vernal Falls, photo by Harold Davis. View this photograph larger.

Julian and I strapped on our snow shoes and headed up the Muir Trail to Vernal and Nevada Falls. At the bridge below Vernal Falls I snapped this photograph in the swirling snow.

Coming into Yosemite in the winter, when it is probably its most photogenic, I am reminded how much the Sierras are a temple of nature, a sanctuary, a mysterious island, a snow-clad land apart, a refuge, and my most mysterious hidden kingdom.

View this photograph larger.