I pulled into the Whitney Portal, a little surprised at the numbers of cars in the parking lots. I found a parking space here in The Whitney Portal Picnic Area parking lot, for day use only! [I made the mistake of parking here overnight on my trip to Lone Pine Lake, missing the (ample) signage telling me not to! No harm no foul]. I mulled around the area for a couple of hours, getting the lay of the land, inspecting bear lockers and campgrounds, and dining on a burger and fries at the Whitney Portal Store.