Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Options and Questions About Getting an Early Start

You are allowed to cross the Whitney Zone Boundary located a short distance past Lone Pine Lake at Midnight the day of your permit. If your permit is for Monday, leave the portal at 9:00 or 10:00 pm on Sunday. Depending on your pace, you should arrive at the boundary at about midnight. You can set your tent up at anytime, there is no time restriction on setting up camp.
If you feel like hauling your gear nearly 17 miles(round trip) I suggest you camp at Trail Camp. It puts you 4 miles from the summit with roughly 3,000 feet of accumulated gain to go. You also get the benefit higher acclimation. The down side to this approach is that you have to haul your gear over 8 miles back down. Otherwise camp at Outpost. it's at 10,500 ft and you only have to haul your gear 8 miles round trip. Happy Hiking