Sorry for my ignorance but I've never fly fished before and the rod I plan on taking is a telescoping 5ft w spinning reel. Could I use a fly with this setup?
Yes. Search for "fly and bubble fishing" on YouTube. I never tried fishing in the Whitney zone but saw plenty of small trout in Lone pine and Mirror lakes. My best fishing experiences in the Sierra were in the Evolution Valley and Garnet lake. It you ever consider fishing in larger alpine lakes, lures are a good option. In general, trout tends to be bigger in lakes than in small streams.
