Hello all,
I'm here on the forum to see if anyone can help me out. I have a day pass to climb Mt Whitney on June 29th and that's already a go. I plan to fly out from NC to CA June 27th and get to Lone Pine on the same day. I plan to acclimatize that day and the 28th. Come June 29th, I plan to leave Lone Pine roughly around 1-2AM to get a good early start. I'm planning to do the Mountaineer's Route (I do already have some mountaineering experience). Since the gates are open, could I park at the trailhead if I get there that early? I'm not sure how parking is by the trailhead and want to avoid parking any lower than necessary (I could even show up earlier if need be). Any help answering that main question would be greatly appreciated!
Side note. I have been hiking/training for the past 3 months on the east coast but there's not that much elevation here....unfortunately. The highest I've been is close to 5800 ft and that didn't feel too bad on the body in terms of oxygen.