Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion The night before a day hike

Hello, hikers!

Last year I day-hiked the main trail and camped at the Whitney Portal Family Campground for 3 nights (2 for acclimation and last one to recover after a long day)
The day of the hike, I put all my belongings inside the bear box located on my site and drove my empty car to the trail-head (At 3 AM), went up and down, returned to my car at 8 PM and drove back to my campground.

This year I'm planning to camp at Horseshoe Meadows, but I found that there is a staying limit of only one (1) night.
The same thing happens with the campground located next to the Portal Store.

My question is… if I have to leave the campground, where can I put all my stuff when I'm hiking?

Are there "public" bear boxes? What I mean by this is if there is a bear box that is not inside a campground.

I know I can't leave my cooler and extra food inside my parked car while I'm hiking, so please tell me the usual procedure for this case.
I'm solo hiking and planning to start at 3 AM again.

Sleeping in the car near the trail-head is another option for the night before the hike, but that method still does not solve my problem.

Thanks in advance,

Jorge P.

The backpacker parking lots at Whitney Portal have bear boxes for hikers to store their food in while they are out on the trail and the car is in the lot.

Thank you, Steve.
I hope I can find space on that boxes.

I should have written: The parking lots have rows of bear boxes.

You should be able to find room. Just don't put your boots or other junk in the box. Leave that in the car. Bears can smell the difference.