There have been three deaths attributed to bears in California. Two of these were bears in captivity and one was a wild grizzly bear in the 1870s. None were from black bears. (though black bears have killed humans in other locations).
I'd venture a guess that the bears in the Mt Whitney area are very much aware of your location, with or without bells.
Until you have an actual face to face encounter, you will probably not truly believe this, but any sign of assertiveness from a human will cause the black bears in california to retreat.
I know that I was apprehensive on the trail at night until I actually saw how a bear responds to simply walking toward it.
In other words, no, I don't carry a bear bell.
