What time do people tend to leave, with respect to sunrise, for the Mountaineers Route day hike (summer)?
K
I suggest leaving the portal ~ 90 minutes prior to sunrise. Nautical twilight begins approx. 1 hour prior to sunrise. This allows 1 hour to reach the E-Ledges, and means that no head light should be required to ascend the E ledges.
In Aug. you will have approx. 14 hours of "day light" (not counting twilights), which is hopefully sufficient to get up and down. If you wanted to be a bit more conservative you could plan on returning via the main trail, since there would be less concern hiking in the dark (will likely take a bit longer than returning via the Mountaineer's route).
John
