I have been visiting Mt Whitney most summers since 2013, but this is the first year I have a permit and intend to continue to the west after summiting and heading to Guitar Lake and eventually on to Onion Valley. I have a shuttle from Onion Valley scheduled for the evening before my permit starts. Ideally, I would like to arrive at the portal in time to grab a burger and then head up to the Lone Pine Lake area around sunset. The plan would be to hang out there until I can continue my hike and legally enter the Whitney Zone at midnight with the hope of being on or near the summit by sunrise.

This all makes sense to me, but I've never done it before and I want to make sure I'm not going to be in violation of any regulations to hang out at LPL for an hour or two waiting for midnight, should I get there early. I won't be camping for sure (not setting up a tent, etc), but if I'm supposed to wait at the Portal until midnight before hiking, then I would want to adhere to that requirement.