Sierragator- Above the trees, it was often possible to hike safely without artificial light. It is amazing how quickly one's Night Vision gets activated. Unfortunately, the full moon was in the southern sky and often blocked by walls (for example, on the switchbacks.)Whereas, the moonlight hike of the MT is popular, the MR by moonlight sounds like quite an adventure (with prior experience up the route being highly advantageous).
Richard P-Yes, the colors of the sunrise were interesting. From the summit at 5:30 AM I suspected the mild uniform haze (seen as a layer above the horizon in all directions) was due to smoke from the many fires. As I drove up the Owens Valley and beyond in the afternoon, the smoke really got progressively uglier. My plan to cross over on the Tioga Road was abandoned when I reached Mono Lake. Instead I returned to Sacramento through South Lake Tahoe (via Monitor Pass).
Richard- I purposely did not mention a Full Moon hike when I picked up my permit, so there was no full moon stamp on it. The ranger who issued my permit seemed new to the process at the ESVC and I wanted to keep things as simple as possible. My permit stated that it was for the "Mt Whitney Zone-Day Use All Routes." So I entered the Whitney Zone (just past Lone Pine Lake) at 12:01 AM.
James L- I was lucky, as it was a warm evening with no wind. Unlike the usual early morning experience on the summit, people were not hiding in the hut in survival mode.
Jim
