Hi, Sparrow.
1. First, a threshold question--what kind of permit do you have? Dayhiking most commonly implies a permit to dayhike up and back via the main Mt. Whitney Trail. The MR requires a permit for the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek which, on its own, means descending via the MR, too. There is a separate permit or add-on for exiting via Trail Crest that you would need in order to descend via the main Mt. Whitney Trail. I know--it's complicated.
3. I will refrain from providing an estimate of the roundtrip because the range for people of average fitness is too broad to be meaningful.
3. Your appetite will collapse as you ascend. Take easy to digest carb heavy foods, energy gels, etc.
4. Coming from Chicago should not be a limiting factor, per se, especially since you sound like you are all pretty fit. But I would caution against speed--it is not your friend. Plan on an alpine (i.e. very early morning) start and take it slow and steady. Read up on AMS and memorize the symptoms. The MR is "sporty" and adrenaline will accelerate dehydration by a lot. If you are committed to the MR, the route finding is no joke, even at the beginning of the route as you ascend through the Ebersbacher Ledges (E-Ledges). One of the long-time frequent whitneyzone posters has some must-watch YouTube clips of ascending and descending the ledges
here.. I personally would caution against the MR as a first ascent of Whitney.
Feel free to post more questions or message me directly through the site. Very happy to share information.
Have fun and good luck!
Goose
