SRojas,
Don't know what date you will be hiking Whitney but I'm in similar situation and will be doing the dayhike on 23rd July.
Also, echoing the thoughts above - there are about 100 people day hiking every day. Most of them will be starting at similar times from the portal - depending on their pace/fitness I'd say that most of the time you will have someone within a stone's throw. So I'm not worried about being alone but it could be a personal preference to have a friend.
I'm also planning to have my priorities right - going back home to my family safely being the first and foremost, nothing else matters.
Abhijit
