Got big pine north fork 2 night permit on the flight. Questions about printing and which lake to camp

[hiac]

I just landed in vegas. Since I have no printer, should I go to visitor center to ask them to print?
My reservation is to stay at second lake for two nights. Should I stay 2nd night at third lake ? Post from alltrails suggest trail to first and second lake are snow free.

Since I have two nights camp there, what is the top scenery I should not miss,as long as there is not much snow?

Thank you!

[grampy]

haic -
When you reserve your permit, you are required to enter your rough plan, but you’re not required to stick with it - other than to abide by the intent; for example, you can’t get a Big Pine NF permit and go start out from Whitney Portal instead.
If you’re driving from Vegas and starting your hike the same day, making it to Second Lake will probably feel like you’ve gone far enough. But if you have enough energy, you could proceed to Third Lake and spend two nights there. Or if you only make it to Second Lake, you could stay there and just add the 3/4 mile or so (heading from Second to Third) onto a day hiking exploration.
Later in the season, I’d say doing a day hike up to Palisade Glacier would be worth it, if that’s your sort of thing. But there’s likely way too much snow now; but going part of the way - in order to see Sam Mack Meadow - might be nice.
Otherwise, do a day trip to see Fourth and Fifth lakes, and Summit Lake (if you can get to it). Sixth (and especially Seventh) are likely not easily reachable this early.

Are you staying in a hotel tonight ? You can probably get the front desk to print your permit, otherwise you’ll need to get it printed at one of the Inyo Visitors Centers (Bishop or Lone Pine).
Have a nice trip !

[hiac]

Thank you so much. I will drive to death valley tonight and print the permit at visitor center.