wornoutboots
06-26-2015, 18:36
Do you need a permit if you say, enter at Bishop Pass & bounce all across the range & basically live in the woods exploring everything & anything you want for 30 or so days? I met a lady last year at the Lake of the Lone Indian doing a month long what she called a "hot springs tour" & I thought that was cool. I wished now that I asked her about her permits, if any.
That's the great thing about the Sierra Nevada permit systems. Once you have a permit you can move around as you see fit. Just be sure the end date of the trip corresponds to the end of your trip and give an accurate entry and exit point and you're good to go. The only exceptions that require special permits are Mt Whitney and Half Dome, that I know of.
Spirit Walker
06-26-2015, 21:13
Yes you need a permit. but as Coffee said, the nice thing about the Sierras is you only need the entry point permit, not a night by night reservation as you do in most NPs.
In addition to the permit they do ask for an estimated location day by day. But they are flexible and I suspect it is used more for cases of rescues.
I expect that alternative Sierra routes will become more popular as the JMT becomes harder to permit. While the JMT is drop dead gorgeous there are many equally cool areas. One of my all time favorite places is Marion Lake, just southwest of Mather Pass on the SHR.
Do you need a permit if you say, enter at Bishop Pass & bounce all across the range & basically live in the woods exploring everything & anything you want for 30 or so days? I met a lady last year at the Lake of the Lone Indian doing a month long what she called a "hot springs tour" & I thought that was cool. I wished now that I asked her about her permits, if any.
"That's the great thing about the Sierra Nevada permit systems. Once you have a permit you can move around as you see fit."
UMM, that's BIG MAYBE.
That's a valid question WOB but I don't think you fully understand what you're asking when you say "Hiking all across the Sierra Nevada." The Sierra Nevada(Sierras) is a pretty big area. The Sierras are MUCH more than Yosemite and Sequoia/Kings Canyon NPs. It includes, just off the top of my head, Inyo, Sequoia, Sierra, Humboltd/Toyiabe(HUGE!, largest Nat Forest by sq miles in the Lower 48) National Forests, etc, 20 Wilderness Areas, etc. The Sierras also stretches from Susanville CA in northern California(well north of Lake Tahoe, near Lassen NP) south to Tehachipi CA and ranges east a bit into Nevada.
The answer to your question is, given how you asked it, - It depends. The details and nature of your trip are vitally important info. From what I know, which certainly isn't all encompassing, depends where in the Sierra Nevada(Sierras) you go, where and how you are entering/exiting, length of stay, particularly in Wilderness areas, etc. You'd likely have some questions put to you by the permitting agency(where exactly in the Sierras you go, where you enter from, and other details about the nature of your trip depend on who issues your permit or if you even need one) if you phrased your intended goal as you have when applying for such a permit. Better know the right answers! For example, they may ask how you intend to resupply. If you say something like "well, I'll be heading out to such and such a location outside of the Sierras for a resupply taking a down day in this area" OR you say "I'll be reentering at a different TH than where I exit for the resupply" they'll say you need to pull more than one permit as if you leave the Inyo Nat Forest(Sierras, JMT) for more than a 24 hr period or reenter from a different TH than you exited from requires pulling multiple permits. Then there are places in the Sierras where no permit is required.
Various Wilderness Areas may have their own rules, permit requirements, etc as well. For example, Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe.
Now you see why the PCT 500 Mile Permit, if you abide by it, is so helpful for PCTers in simplifying the permit requirements.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_(U.S.)
http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjAwhwtDDw9_AI8zPwhQ oY6BdkOyoCAPkATlA!/?ss=110504&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=FSE_003756&navid=160100000000000&pnavid=160000000000000&position=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&ttype=main&pname=Inyo%2520National%2520Forest-%2520Recreation%2520Passes%2520&%2520Permits#National Pass
Don't know how I lost my paragraph breaks. Sorry for the long read.