Long before dawn on Thanksgiving Day, I hoisted my backpack to my shoulder, weighted with camera equipment, and set out along a wooded trail in the Yosemite Valley. As the sun rose, I approached the majestic El Capitan to witness the first frost of the season. Named during an early exploration, the formation "El Capitan" loosely means "the captain" or "the chief". That night, weary from my hike and deep in the down of my sleeping bag, I gave thanks to the chief, the world's largest monolith of granit...and for yet another season in one of the most incredible places on earth.