Incredible! I saw the same thing in ‘05 and always wondered what it was. I remember back in 1969, my brother and I were camping on the Mt. Whitney Trail (in the High Sierra of California) and from our tents saw a slow moving light in the night sky, as big and bright as the full moon. My brother thought it was like a scene from Invaders from Mars but two days later when we made it down the mountain to the town of Lone Pine, we found out that it was a Russian satellite reentering orbit.
BTW if I recall correctly, Lone Pine is one place other than the Four Corners area John Ford did a lot of shooting for his western films? If so, it is some wonderful countryside to admire.
Wow, you're old, I didn't think Mt Whitney even existed way back that far!
Seriously, its a beatiful area, I have climbed Mt Whitney twice, once from the back with a big group, and once from the front solo. It is a great place to be if you want to view the heavens. Not such a great place if you want to breathe.