guyd wrote:Since all permits Glacier>LYV, HI>LYV, HI>Sunrise/Merced (pass through) are gone, someone told me that the only choice to be allowd to camp at Sunrise Creek was to ask Glacier>Illilouette or HI>Illilouette permit, with the attached obligation to camp the first night along Illilouette Creek, before to be allowed to camp anywhere else (Sunrise creek in this instance). Is that correct...?
There is no legal camping anywhere else along that route - not on the Panorama Trail, the JMT section between Panorama and LYV, or for 2 miles beyond LYV. So yes, in essence that is correct - if you can't hike beyond LYV due to your limitations, or you can't get a passthrough permit, your only camp option is two miles up Illilouette from the Panorama/Illilouette bridge.
On your second night you would be able to camp anywhere it's legal, including LYV itself.
But, that isn't the only trailhead option for this plan - there is a second trailhead called Mono Meadow off Glacier Pt Rd, which gives you a shorter hike to legal campsites along Illilouette.
If you get HI to Illilouette you will be climbing quite a lot and backtracking a lot. I would get a permit from Glacier Pt, or Mono Meadow. My fallbacks would be trailheads further south along the Pohono trail. I personally am not fond of bumping elbows with tourists when backpacking.