Thanks for all the suggestions!
I think that if I'm going to be doing any driving to the trailhead, I might as well spend another night at Rock Creek Lodge and drive a couple hours to the portal. If I camp anywhere other than Whitney Portal, I'm looking at about an hour plus of driving plus breaking camp, loading gear into the car, etc. There would be more drive time from Rock Creek but more efficiency with everything else (no need to bring camping gear, can just wake up after sleeping in a bed, cook a quick breakfast, and get on the road). So if I'm going to camp I think the Portal is the best bet and the question then would be, family campground or secret ravine campground? With a sleep mask and some ear plugs I should be ok at either one but I'm leaning towards the family campground so I can just stuff my gear into the car and drive to the day use parking lot.
