High among the pinnacles of Mt. Whitney’s sheer western face, we hiked upward with measured breath and watched from our shifting, precarious vantage as the sun’s first light peeled back the long gown of night, revealing the contours of so many miles we’d recently walked, cragged mountain faces and clear sky aglow in lakes like mirrors, far below.

Work to clean and repair interior sections of the Wawona Tunnel at Yosemite National Park will lead to occasional traffic delays beginning Sunday and extending into December.

Retardant drops from air tankers have become a standard weapon in the fight against large wildfires, such as the Rim Fire affecting a corner of Yosemite National Park. There's occasional debate about the pros and cons of that technique, but there's no doubting the skill and courage of the crews of those aircraft. Here's a video with a pilot's-eye view of Yosemite during operations over the Rim Fire.

The "Rim Fire" continued its spread in Yosemite National Park on Saturday, though the fire was far to the north of the iconic Yosemite Valley. While some park roads were affected by the blaze, most were open, park officials said.