Re: Visiting California for first time and have a couple of questions

Actually the odds of getting a single permit for a Whitney day hike on a weekday, especially Monday is pretty good. I do Whitney solo every year and always get my first choice, and I do it on the weekdays. You will definitely want to get to Lone Pine the day before though and hang out at Whitney Portal or Horseshoe Meadows to acclimate to the higher elevation a bit. I believe the Portal is about 8300' and Horseshoe Meadows is about 10K.