Was it just my imagination, or was the trail a whole lot less crowded than usual?
I haven't been to Whitney in a couple of years but I'll comment on my experience here around Reno, NV. It seems many more people have discovered hiking. Often trailheads have more cars than ever before. Yesterday my wife took grandkids to Mt Rose Waterfall - she had never seen so many people on the trail. Recently at Galena Creek Park there was about 50 cars in the parking lot at Jones Creek trailhead.
