The majestic sight of the highest summit in the contiguous United States, glowing profusely in intense orange, made it up for any ounce of disappointment in me. I had climbed it once before, and we were going to climb it again in just over a day. That time the ascent would be in the company of a full moon in the dark. For now, I was extremely thrilled at the beauty of the west slope of the mountain that I had never seen before. HDR