I know what you mean. It seems to me that running in a beautiful environment like the Whitney zone enhances the senses especially at night. The only time it did not work out so well is once when I was pacing a Angeles Crest 100 runner near Mt. Wilson. We were running at night, under trees and I could not see the rocks under the leaves. I twisted my right ankle three times that night and I had to let the runner go on without me. It was great up until that point though. If you like running in the mountains I would look into pacing someone in an ultra where it is allowed. For the AC100 this was allowed after 50 miles. I paced two runners that night, the first one dropped out (the race director), and the second had his best time ever. I guess the best thing about doing this is I met two new runners that night, helping them to achieve their goals and absolutely no pressure on me. It was also great to see the lights winding through the mountains before and after us underneath the stars.