Hi, Yea, I was surprised to see your note Hale-Bop had "pretty much" disappeared by the end of April. I think you would have a hard time convincing all us marathoners of that! :-) No, Hale-Bob was plain in the sky with a short, if not open tail. It wasn't anywhere near huge like the image on this site, but it was absolutely very, very obvious. As for the note that it was North of Whitney, I have no idea where it was since I ran marathons back then and didn't have the relationship with Mt Whitney I do now.
As for the date that I saw Hale-Bob while getting ready for the marathon, it would have been May 2nd, a Friday night as the marathon was run on May 3rd.
I did try and figure if I had been to the Sierra's earlier that year because Trout season starts in late April in the Sierra's. My marathon trip was designed around a fishing trip, which means I was in the Sierra's about 4 days earlier, April 29th or 30th, but I spent the entire time in Bishop, Bishop Creek, Sabrina and South Lake. I know I didn't see Hale-Bob while I was in Bishop. I also remember that it was my first off-road marathon and was excited to be running with some really great runners from Corona. That night, Friday, I had my one and only Migraine Headache and woke up throwing up.
So, though I'm 55 and my memory could be better at times, I still remember Hale-Bop over the Sierras. It was a surprise and a wonderful sight, as well as memory. That was the only time I saw Hale-Bop up there. I lived in L.A. at the time and also don't remember being able to see it from there...... so, I guess you have to take it for what it is, because in reality, Hale-Bob was in the sky over the Sierra's on the evening of May 2nd, 1997, not "pretty much" disappeared. You just don't forget a sight like that. But, that's from someone who was blessed enough to have seen it with his own eyes. Hope that answers your curiosity :-)
"Turtles, Frogs & other Environmental Sculpture"