If you have ambitions of photographing Horsetail Fall in Yosemite National Park during its brief annual window of apparent luminosity, likely only a few days remain in the 2013 shooting season.

The New York Times this week reported on the large turnout for the annual phenomenon. Horsetail Fall, described in past REI Blog posts, pours over the edge of Yosemite Valley’s 7,569-foot El Capitan. When late-day sunlight strikes it at a particular angle between mid-February and early March, the flow appears to glow in gold, orange or red.

Photographer Michael Frye has captured what most observers regard as one of the premier shots of a glowing Horsetail Fall (and has generously granted us permission to share it below), and Yosemite videographer Steven Bumgardner (aka Yosemite Steve) produced a customarily splendid short film about the annual event:

On Wednesday Steve reported to us that perhaps a few days of glow-inducing light might remain in 2013, though it's a less-than-ideal year for shooters. “This was the driest year for Horsetail Fall in my 6 years of observing it,” he tells The REI Blog. “Dry as in almost no water. It was also the most crowded I've ever seen as well.”

Have any readers made the pilgrimage to Yosemite in pursuit of The Big Glow?  If so, what factors have you found are helpful for obtaining a successful shot?