ok, let me clarify what my original plan was for late september: I was planning on leaving on thursday morning(9/29) around 4am, get to lone pine @ 10, get my permit(hopefully), do a short hike, go to the portal, and get to sleep around 3 or 4pm, so i could a full afternoon/night of sleep. Get up @ 11:30pm, and hit the trail by 12:15 or 12:30am......The plan to head down on that wednesday night is excellent! I could get to cottonwood lakes TH, at around midnight, get up in the morning, get the permit, do a hike then get to bed very early around 4, and be well rested, and better acclimatized for the 30th. Thanks for all the great advice. Perhaps, i can ask more advice, in future regarding my gear and pack....so perhaps I can avoid the embarrassing situation with my pack I had in July. I have really made good use of this great whitney forum website. It is great to see all the trip reports, and be able to obtain such good information. Perhaps i can actually provide good information to others, in the future.....I also look forward to seeing you all on the trail sometime....Eric.
