my intention is to hike up to lone pine lake tomorrow evening and go up whitney early saturday as a day hike and back down to lone pine lake saturday evening. so since lone pine lake isnt in the whitney zone, no permit is required there at all correct? so technically i can get either permit tomorrow for hiking on saturday is how i understand it...please correct if i am wrong.
If you show up tomorrow, there will be two lotteries. One at 10 a.m.for an overnight permit, to enter anytime on Friday during the day, to camp on Friday night and as many nights thereafter as you need. There will be another lottery, at I don't know what time, for a day hiking permit (to enter at midnight or later on Friday night). So you could try for the one lottery, and if you don't get it, try for the other.
If you want to camp at Lone Pine Lake, though, you do need an overnight permit even though it is not in the Whitney Zone.
Edit: Wilderness Permit Options (link above on the left),
box 6 gives the time for the walk-in permits: 11 a.m. for same-day overnight, and 2 p.m; for next-day day hike permits.
