Second Annual Moonlight Skyline Hike

[skunkboy]

Just a few quick thoughts on last night's Full Moon Romp II... What a delightful group of "hikin fools" that journied up that mountain. In all my years of hiking, this was probably one of the most memorable that I've been on. The camaraderie was excellent. One of the high points of the hike was looking at all those headlamps and "Jedi light saberes" macrching up the mountain, with the spontaneous coyote howling that broke out at odd intervals. Priceless. My newfound hiking buddies, Angelina, Tommy, Randy... it was a real pleasure hiking with you. Also a big thank you to Jack for his trail knowledge and humor that was so fun to be around. When we walked into the tram, we got a big hoot from all our trail comrades. That was special. Whe even had a special guest appearance from Steve and Fern in the tram waiting room. Last, but not least, a special hug and heartfelt thank you to Ellen, who threw this all together. Lady... you sure know how to throw a party!

Sincerely

Pat, aka Skunk


PS. Z, sorry about the alarm. Look forward to meeting you

[Ellen]

Howdy All

Thanks so much to Skunk for proposing the first annual moonlight hike last year. I'm also glad he passed on the flu vaccine this year so he could come to his own party I felt like a happy little kid passing out glowing necklaces in the musuem parking lot. Some folks put them on their hat brims, others wore them on the back of their packs. It was a blast to see 16 glowing hoops and headlamps on the switchbacks.

It felt somewhat warm (humid and no breeze) we when started, so everyone stripped down at the picnic tables. Once we gained the ridge after the Shade Rock switchbacks, we felt a cool breeze. Unfortunately, the cool breeze quickly developed an artic character. At 4300, everyone, including the Polar Bear, donned additional clothing before heading up to the Enchanted Garden and the 5000 K ridge. Indie Jack brought walkie-talkies which didn't work well, so we wound up corresponding via our ATT cell phones.

I sure wish I'd figured out my headlamp was bad earlier in the hike. I was stumbling around from the very beginning Athough the moon was almost full, as Perry pointed out, it was in the wrong place to provide us with any real illumination. About all I could see was my shadow cast by Hengst Joe's headlamp. Thanks to Hengst Joe and Sally for repeatedly helping me find the trail and for taking over the lead on the Never Ending Ridge once I realized what was wrong.

The sun was rising right as we hit Flat Rock -- perfect timing -- and we were greeted by the La Quinta moonlight hikin' fools. We took a breakfast break -- it was cold enough that I wish I had brought a thermos with coffee. We sat companionably in the rising sun. I told everyone to enjoy shivering in the cold weather on Skyline as it was a rare condition

Heading up through the manzanita blessedly raised our core temperatures and spirits. Still, it was a relief to reach the Thank you Jesus rocks before negotiating the new fallen tree on the traverse. The Skyline first timers were suitably impressed by Coffman's Crag and ready to be done when we reached Grubbs Notch. The wind was howling, so we wasted no time scrambling up through the rocks to the tram viewing platform, where the LaQuinta hikin' fools greeted us.

Thanks everyone for a great day -- I'm looking forward to doing this again in the fall when the moon is full (visualize me howling).

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[Ellen]

Howdy All

A special thanks to Indie Jack for taking the "trail sweep" position and making sure all our group arrived safe and sound at the tram station I feel that this duty is more important than "leading" a hike.

The 16 other hikin' fools who joined me for the moolight Skyline madness:
Indie Jack, Hengst Joe, Kathryn, Lindella, Sister Sally, Cindy, Perry, Skunk, Reza, Brian, Mike, Steve, Angelina, Tommy, Randy and Jason.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[Cy Kaicener]

Great trip report Ellen. You are a great inspiration Ellen to inspire 16 people to meet at 1.00 am.

[Lermo]

Amen to what Cy said... Kudos to Ellen and Indie Jack along with all you other hikin fools!! Did anybody get pictures? I'd love to see the glow stick procession. Maybe I'll just have to join in next time?

[LarryK]

Nice meeting you again Ellen (I was the guy who brewed the coffee on the rocks by the tram).

The 4 of us started at 12:50, just before your group. Our goal was to make the tram and then back down. Did a lot of hiking without a light. Really cool. Flatrock for sunrise was amazing. Made the notch at 7:45 and then the scramble up the rocks to the fence where we had our coffee and sandwichs. Started back down at 9am. Got to talk with Fern for a few and then Steve. I've done Skyline or C2C a total of 6 times and have run into them on the trail everytime. As for the return trip, the weather was awesome. Probably didn't break 80 in Plam Springs but it felt hot on the trail for the last 4 miles. I can't imagine doing the return trip in weather any warmer. We only took 1 short break and it still took us to 1:35 to make the museum and my truck with 4 ice cold beers. That was probably the best tasting beer I've had in a long time.

A trip to remember! I tell you going down a set of stairs today is a real challenge.

Maybe I'll run into you in SGW next weekend. We hope to ski the big draw.

Larry

[Kathryn61]

The hike was awesome! Thanks Ellen for organizing it. It was so cool watching such a long line of lights moving up the trail. And Ellen was thoughtful enough to provide us all with glow-sticks of varying colors. And as always the camaraderie was the best!

Here are some pictures:

http://www.meetup.com/Hiking-Coachella- ... s/1484321/

Kathryn

[Hikin_Jim]

Great photos, Ms. K.

HJ

[Lermo]

Thanks for the photos Kathryn. Yeah.... You got a shot of the glow stick line!

[Ellen]

Howdy Larry

Thanks for sharing your coffee and congratulations for still being able to walk after hiking down Skyline Sorry I didn't remember your name -- I'm blaming a combination of hypothermia, hypoxia and sleep deprivation That's my story and I'm sticking to it

Howdy Z

We missed you No worries though, I'm planning another one for the fall. The following dates are close to full moons: Sept 11, Oct 15, Nov 12. Sept will likely be hot, but we could luck out and get a cool day.

Also want to hike the PCT to the tram again -- this time starting from the right place the first time and with other folks. Nov 12 also looks good for that hike. We could have two main groups -- the greyhounds and those of us who don't have speedy alien DNA

Howdy Lermo

Please join us for the next moonlight madness Skyline

Miles of smiles,
Ellen