SIGHTING: COTTONWOOD LAKES TRAIL (NEAR MT. WHITNEY), CA

Witness Testimony

"Night time fly over of object at Cottonwood Lakes, Mt. Whitney, California - 1993After seeing the sphere earlier in the day we camped out under the stars at Cottonwood Lakes just south of Mt. Whitney. Our elevation was above the 10,000 ft. level in the Sierra Nevada Range. While not quite asleep around 10 PM I heard a strange "whirring" sound in the sky. I opened my eyes and looked directly up towards the crystal clear, black and moonless, star filled sky. This slow moving object flew directly over us. The object radiated absolutely no light whatsoever. If it wasn't for the fact that as it passed over head it blocked out the stars behind it, I would have never seen it. It moved rather slowly across the sky. Much slower than a jet would travel. Its direction of travel was from north to south. Several seconds later, maybe 30 or so, two jets flew overhead in the same path of travel as the object, as if chasing the object. I could tell they were jets due to their wing tip lights and that I had served on an aircraft carrier in the US Navy I have had plenty of night sightings of US Aircraft. I could not tell the exact height of the object as it flew overhead, but it must been at least 1,000 feet above us to clear the ridge line that surrounded the lakes. We were just east of the spine of the Sierras and the elevation at the peak is about 11,000 feet. The two jets were flying at higher than normal speeds but without their afterburners fired. It just seemed so weird to see an object fly over and block out the stars behind it in a total blackness. It must have been rather large for it blocked out the section of the sky as if I held my hand out at arms length and blocked out the stars. I could not make out the edges of the object but it was more of a diamond shape than any of the other shapes you had listed. No lights, no openings, nothing other than being its shadow. Just a slight whirring sound was eminated from the object as it passed overhead.((NUFORC Note: Date is approximate. PD))"