My wife dropped me off at Pine Springs campground and I started up with my head lamp. I felt the weight of mountains around me blocking out the stars but couldn't see anything beyond the end of my light beam. About a mile up the trial, I spotted a pair of glowing green eyes looking at me from between two boulders. My light showed a small head and feline type ears. I've read that green or green-gold eyeshine is typical of cats, so my guess is it was a baby bobcat or mountain lion. It might have been a fox, too. I searched the area on the way down and didn't find any signs of a den or anything. Since I got to the top at sunrise, I ordered the photos from the top down.
The summit was spectacular. It was capped with a stainless steel pyramid placed by American Airlines in 1958 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Butterfield Overland Mail, a stagecoach route that passed south of the mountain. There was an incredible view of El Capitan, the prominent cliffed peak below.
This was the most recent book, placed October, 2017 and already full!
After taking summit photos, I started slow jogging down the flat parts of the trail. There were two sections of the trail that traversed cliffs, but both were 5' wide and were not exposed. The top cliff section has a wooden bridge over part of it. As I descended, I passed dozens of parties that got later starts. The views on the way down were just as great as from the summit. It was a beautiful desert landscape. Just before I got to the bottom, a huge buck hopped across the trail in front of me and started eating leaves from a small tree. It was a perfect way to end a memorable hike. 8.4 miles, 3048' gain, 4 hours 10 minutes, $5 self pay day use fee (national park fee).
One of the cliff sections, but the trail was wide and completely safe
