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Early on a Friday morning a couple of weeks back, I caught my first real glimpse of Yosemite Valley.

It was chilly, but not frigid. Silvery clouds blotted out the rising sun, until they were streaked with pale pink and orange. Jenna Schoenefeld, the photographer I was traveling with, and I drove along the Merced River admiring the snow-dusted peaks of El Capitan and Half Dome.