High Sierra Topix

As far as where to spend the night, there are multiple campsites at the top of Horseshoe Meadows Road. However, that would put you at about 10K ft, which isn't exactly the "intermediate" elevation you're asking for. If you're willing to drive a bit out of your way, you could camp at the top of Onion Valley Road outside of Indpendence or Glacier Lodge Rd. outside of Big Pine. Independence is about 15 min. north of Lone Pine and Big Pine is about 45 min. north, but both of those areas are lower than the Horseshoe Meadows area. I would NOT recommend camping at Whitney Portal. While the elevation and location fit your plans, people wake up around 2 am to start up Whitney, so that campground is loud all night. You may acclimate, but you probably won't sleep much.

To get back to your car, hitchhiking should be easy and effective. Whitney Portal Rd. and Horseshoe Meadows Rd. are very busy, and most people are happy to pick up a fellow hiker.

To your earlier question about pacing, I agree with others that this is totally subjective. I'll happily hike 20 miles in a day and go stir crazy if I'm hiking with people who want to go slower than that. Others find my pacing to be a form of torture that ruins the entire point of backpacking. To each their own.

Over the decades, I had something like 42 successful annual trips up to the Whitney summit, so I acquired a lot of data on what works good and what does not. Back when I was young and strong, I would spend one day driving to Lone Pine for a permit and then up to Whitney Portal to spend one night. I could rise before dawn, hit the summit before noon, and make it back to my car before sunset. As I got older, I needed a lot more acclimatization in order to accomplish this. By about Year 35-40, my trip involved driving to the White Mountains east of Bishop, and I would car camp at a place at 8500 feet. Then I would rise very early before dawn and drive north on the White Mountain Road to the end. The gate was two miles below the 12,000 foot research lab, so I would park and hike the dirt road north. From 12,000 feet, it narrows down into a rocky jeep road that leads to the summit, well above 14,000 feet. Then I walked back to my car. That gave me some exercise at elevation. Then I drove from there to my Mount Whitney entrance point. The main east side Mount Whitney Trail will really wipe most hikers out. Then in the last few years, I started approaching Mount Whitney from alternative points on the west side. I did the High Sierra Trail from Crescent Meadow and reached Crabtree Camp in four days. Then the fifth day would be up and down Whitney. Then I would exit via Cottonwood Pass on the sixth day. For a couple of years I went in via Shepherd Pass and would reach the JMT on the first day (that will kick your butt!). Then Crabtree Camp, then the summit and back to Crabtree. Then back out the way I had come. In my opinion, get some altitude acclimatization done before you start in earnest. When you start, get going during the cool night. That's why they invented good headlamps! In advance, know where your water sources are going to be, because you don't want to have to carry much excess water weight. One year it was very cool, so I went from Whitney Portal to Trail Crest, I drank my first 8 ounces of Gatorade, and then continued to the summit. There I must have had a quart, just to get normalized again. Out of all of those years, I think that I got hit with rain about twice, and snow or sleet about twice. Good luck.