Hiking Squaw peak on a moonbeam

There's something magical about a full moon. Songwriters love it ("When the moon comes over the mountains"). Lovers pray to it it ("Full moon and empty arms").

And hikers just enjoy watching the big silver orb come over the mountains.

A full moon casts wonderful shadows across mountainsides, lights up peaks with a brush of silver, makes nighttime hiking a trek of exploration as nothing looks the same as in daylight.

About 100 hikers of all ages and all sexes gathered at the top of the Squaw Valley USA cable car Friday evening for a trek to the crown of Squaw Peak at 8,900 feet.

If you weren't there you can enjoy the hike tonight, making sure to get to the base of the cable car by 6:30 p.m. Bring a windbreaker, water, a flashlight (just in case it gets cloudy) and camera with a variety of lenses. Digital works fine but many old-timers like to fool around with film cameras.

The hike from the cable car to the peak isn't particularly steep (about 1,000 vertical feet) , but it winds around and behind the Siberia Express lift. By the time the group was halfway along the trail the hikers stretched back about a half-mile. So much for conditioning in America.

The trail is mostly the usual Sierra Nevada rock and dirt, but there are two patches of snow, pocketed and dirty but passable, about 100 yards long. Obviously, sneakers are not the right footwear for snow stepping.

Farther along, the switchbacks become monotonous with the usual questioned echoing about -- "Are we there yet?"

Most of the time, no. But yes, there is an end to the old trail winding. Trekkers go around and above the Siberia Express chairlift with a magnificent view to the west.

At the peak the terrain is flat, shared with a complex radio-frequency antenna facility.

It's difficult to time the hike so that one arrives at the peak in time to see the moon rising over the mountains and Lake Tahoe to the east and the sun setting behind the peaks to the west. In this case, it was sunset vs. moonrise and the sun won.

The views are, well, spectacular on all sides. The many ski lifts stand out against the brown of the mountains. Far below at the base of 6,200 feet, Squaw Valley condominiums and streets shine brightly. The air is crisp and chilly and those who came without a windbreaker were shivering. And the wind is strong, bringing with it wild scents from the forests and flowers, which bloom all along the trail, often in blankets of blue and yellow. Mule ears are everywhere with their bright yellow blooms.

The guests gather in small knots, awed by the scene. A group from Atlanta, Ga., broke out a bottle of wine and celebrated. Pam from Northstar wishes that she had brought her 17-year-old daughter. Vikki found it all beyond her Ohio experience.

And veteran hikers stand mute and enthralled.

The moon hangs up there ("like a big pizza pie" sang Dean Martin) and one wonders what it was like some 30-plus years ago when men were on the moon. It might have been a wonderful experience, but the view would have been limited to perhaps the earth and the stars.

And that's another bonus of full-moon viewing. Go someplace where the ambient light doesn't blank out all but the brightest of stars. Watch the Milky Way emerge in its blanket of brilliance.

Most of the ski resorts will be offering moonrise hikes this summer. Do yourself and your anxieties a favor and go. Make up your own moon song and don't be afraid to sing it out.