Thanks Steve, you 38 year-old savant you! I'll definitely be ringing the FS line off the hook. My dilemma is that we wanted to do a one or two-nighter on the mountain, and I know those don't come available as often as the dayhike openings. Whitney would be the only point in the trip that we would be backpacking, so our decision to ship all the extra gear out beforehand (bags, pads, tents, larger packs, etc.) is dependant upon knowing we have overnight permits in hand a week or so before we leave. Without at least 4 overnight permits secured, I really don't want to go to that trouble and expense. The rest of the itinerary is all around dayhikes for a week in Yosemite, Mammoth and the Whites while staying in a condo in Mammoth (your idea, remember? A good one too!).
Obtaining dayhike permits once we're there is better than nothing, and that's what we'll try if necessary - but I have no expectation that my wife and daughter will summit, nor really enjoy it as much as a one or two-nighter. I don't even know if I could get them out of bed at 1:00 or 2:00 am. I recall very little from the return half of my dayhike last year except that I was whipped and wanted a big-ass WPS cheeseburger and a beer. Aside from the dayhike being a grind, you don't have time to stop and smell the roses - uh, er, marmots.
