If I were ending the JMT and didn't want to deal with the Whitney exit permit lottery, could I hike down the MR and avoid this? Or would I still need a permit for exiting Mt Whitney?
You only need an Exit Permit to go down the Main Trail. MR is ok without.
But if you are hiking the JMT, if you start in Yosemite (or anywhere else outside of an Inyo N.F. trail head), you
do NOT need the exit permit at all. If you start in a National Park, or from another National Forest, all you need is the original trail head entry permit.
