Bob, feel free to give me a shout at either gfh34@comcast.net or 678-772-3962. I live in Marietta and another board member, catpappy (John), lives a few miles away. We usually try to hook up on Saturday mornings for a 6-mile, 2000-ft hike at Kennesaw Mountain. We'll be happy to talk you through what to expect on a Whitney backpack in detail if you'd like.
FWIW from a training standpoint, altitude aside, hiking the Burnt-Hickory-to-Visitor-Center out-and-back at Kennesaw 3 times will come close to replicating a Whitney main trail hike. You'll get 18 miles and 6000 feet of gain (as compared to 22 miles and 6200 feet of gain on Whitney, round trip). There are also a couple of ass-kicker trails in the Georgia mountains that can help you prepare, most notably the Arkaquah Trail at Brasstown Bald. This is a 12-mile out-and-back that gets you 4000 feet of gain.
If you've not been above 12K' before, and your acclimation time is limited, Diamox would be strongly recommended. The AMS gorilla usually jumps on your back once above 12K'. I don't normally use it, but my wife and daughter do, and it's worked great for them. Getting a scrip is pretty easy once the doc understands the intended purpose - it's not at all uncommon.
There's nothing particularly difficult about the Whitney main trail - it's just a long hike with more than average elevation gain, so your legs need to be ready. Battling the altitude effects on your body is the biggest challenge for most. Fresh snow would make micro-spikes almost useless, and crampons not much better - spikes don't bite fresh powder very well. There needs to be some consolidation before any spike (or axe) will work properly. Fingers crossed for decent weather!
