continuing... If you want to be SURE you have all the permits you need right away, then all you can do is reserve 6 for the date you want, and reserve the rest to start the day before. A few in the group could go in early -- pick up their permits in the afternoon on the day they hike, and just hike up to Lower Boy Scout lake. Takes maybe 2-3 hours at most. They could spend the night there, then hang out and wait for the rest coming up the next day.
Just a note: If you pick up the permits same day as you start, you MUST call ahead and ask them to hold the permits, since otherwise they would give the permits away at 11 AM as no-shows. ...If you go this route, call a few days ahead and confirm this is the situation. You MIGHT be able to just confirm on-line at Recreation.gov (just not sure).
OR... if the several early-starters got there at 11 AM, and there were still some/all of those 4 walk-ins available for the next day, they could trade their reserved permits in for next-day walk-ins.
And last: Your 8-9 people is a large group. It is often the experience of people that members drop out at the last minute. If you got your six permits, that might be all you actually need in the end.
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As for the lottery: You only need enter the lottery if you want to dayhike Mt Whitney via the North Fork. The Main Trail dayhike lottery reservation also permits dayhiking the North Fork. Some people go up the North Fork and down the Main Trail in the same day. That single dayhike lottery permit is what they need.
For overnight backpack trips, the J34 permit is what you need. However, if you go up the North Fork as a backpacker, spending the night along the way, and THEN carry all your gear to the summit with the intent of descending the Main Trail, then in addition to the North Fork backpack permit, you ALSO need a Trail Crest Exit permit. (Most people really don't want to carry their overnight gear to the summit, but a few do this.)
The Exit permits are available online in advance. The trail is J36 on the quota page (15 reservable). To get BOTH the J34 and J36, you would go to Recreation.gov, and search for Inyo National Forest-Wilderness Permits, Permits & Wilderness, then click "
Overnight Exiting Mt Whitney" then find "
North Fork of Lone Pine Creek" Here's a link to a screen showing both:
North Fork with Trail Crest Exit The Exit permits go fast, so you would need to get them AT the same time (People get the exit permits so they can hike from Onion Valley and Horseshoe Meadows, too.)
