A couple hundred feet into the hike, we all stopped to get rid of extra clothing. This was a tee shirt and sunscreen weather; not what one would have expected in mid November. There were a few patches of snow on the shady side of the mountain, but never more then a couple of inches deep, and always well stamped out.
Three and a half hours including 2 lengthy brakes got us to the summit. The weather was as close to perfect as could be expected. Temperatures were around 60 degree, perfect visibility, and warm sun. The only negative was the lively wind that blew at around 10-20 mile an hour. We spent about 1 1/2 hours basking in the sun, eating summit chocolate, taking pictures, and identifying the summits of the high Sierras which were clearly visible to the west.
On the way down, Bob, David, Joan, and I made a detour to summit Mt Rogers. We got back to the cars by 3:40.
Participants: Bob Suzuki, David Hough, Jeff West, Joan Marshall, Milush Kudrnovska, Nancy Fitzsimmons, and scribe: Ron Karpel.
Special thanks to Bill Kirkpatrick for scheduling this trip for such a beautiful day.