Three Doves 

Bring a #3 for the 2nd pitch.

a bit dicey on the second pitch getting to the pin. don't want to blow it here (crux), it wouldn't be pretty.

P.1 is nothin special, but p.2 is excellent, intricate face-climbing on stellar white quartzite.

The rock at the Gunks is not quartzite, it's quartz conglomerate.
But it is pretty and white ;-)

The pin on P2 seems ok to me, it's fairly sheltered by the roof above it.

P2 is one of those where you have to carefully consider the balance between rope drag, and protecting your 2nd. If you place a piece below the roof and sling it too long, your second will be unprotected at the crux, and will only have one chance at doing it. Doubles help with this.

A few moves are a little spicy. For me; the one move just before the roof on P2 got my attention the most. I absolutely love this route, a must do for any Gunks climber.

P1 was comfortable. P2 had some very thin moves on the smooth white rock. As a second, it was totally fine, not sure how I would feel about leading it. I loved the moves, it's all there, but, I suppose another season will pass before I try to lead this.

Just did this the other day for the first time since 1978. It seemed to be one of the easier 5.8s I have done this year. Ratings are strange.

#3hb brassie to protect the pin on p2

#3 BD Micro Nut also backs up the 2nd pitch pin. Couldn't get my other nuts in. Astro Nuts or HBs may work too.

Little brassie works well there.

On the second pitch after the piton I went up to the roof and traversed left pulling through a 3" crack in the roof. Was burly and felt harder than 5.8 . Was I off route? I was told this was the original finish?

Sounds like you did the finish to Hawkeye, which according to Dick Williams is wild and 5.9+.

That seems to make sense. Still... It was a blast! Highly recommended.

before the 2nd pitch pin, I put in a #2 blue master pro cam = green alien. Might have slowed me down.

I also agree that the Gunks are classified as a quartz conglomerate, a sedimentary rather than a metamorphic rock. But, some areas, like around Arrow, seem to be micro crystalline quartz, which suggests metamorphism. I have not researched this, but believe that what may have happened is that the quartz from the sand grains and pebbles went into solution and later precipitated as micro crystalline quartz, like chalcedony or jasper. This could have happened without the entire cliff being metamorphosed.

That is why the rock is so glassy and smooth, like quartzite, e.g, Unita climbing NE of SLC.
We also noticed on Disneyland that there are faulted glassy surfaces, slickensides, between the horizontal layers. So there has been some movement horizontally between the layers that causes glassy surfaces.

The best 5.8 face pitch in the Gunks - and that's sayin' something.

onsighted this today and loved it. pin under roof on P2 seems fine. the moves to and after it are great.

Weird crux pro beta - rather than a micronut, a BD #10 sideways locks in a few inches below the pin. Yeah, the one side is only half making contact, but it's pretty solid. I tried a #1 DMM peanut and it was too big for that seam.