Permit Confusion!

[Solrider]

So I recently found out that I will not be working the month of August and most of September due to cutbacks at my school. While trying to figure out a fun and cheap way to spend my time I figured this would be the perfect time to thru-hike the JMT. I'm trying to figure out what permits I need to apply for and I am totally confused.

My plan would be to hike south to north in order to meet my in-laws near Mather for the Strawberry Music Festival Labor Day weekend. I'm clear on the Mt. Whitney Trail overnight permit. What I'm not clear on are any additional permits I need to apply for, including Half-Dome. Some info says no the Mt. Whitney overnight is all I need, some say yes I'll need others. I can't really find the info on the Inyo site to confirm. In regard to Half-Dome I read on these forums that the permits from the Yosemite side cover it, but what about the Mt. Whitney side?

Please help! I'd like to send in for my permits this week. :confused:

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

My plan would be to hike south to north in order to meet my in-laws near Mather for the Strawberry Music Festival Labor Day weekend. I'm clear on the Mt. Whitney Trail overnight permit. What I'm not clear on are any additional permits I need to apply for, including Half-Dome. . :confused:

It is the same permit - ask for the overnight Whitney Permit as a JMT northbound permit, and indicate that you also want to climb Half Dome on your way out. You'll be asked all sorts of questions where you plan to camp along the trail, but don't take that too seriously - you don't have to stick to it. At least the Inyo rangers make a slight attempt to have a record of your intended route in case you go missing (unlike Yosemite).

You should be alright to climb Half Dome, since anyone in Yosemite who gets an overnight permit from trailheads other than Happy Isles can get the Half Dome permit included, without the quota affecting that choice. Coming from outside of Yosemite, I'd still stop at the ranger office in Tuolumne Meadows and make sure that you are alright with your Inyo-issued permit, but I bet they'll say you're good to go.

[Solrider]

It is the same permit - ask for the overnight Whitney Permit as a JMT northbound permit, and indicate that you also want to climb Half Dome on your way out. You'll be asked all sorts of questions where you plan to camp along the trail, but don't take that too seriously - you don't have to stick to it. At least the Inyo rangers make a slight attempt to have a record of your intended route in case you go missing (unlike Yosemite).

You should be alright to climb Half Dome, since anyone in Yosemite who gets an overnight permit from trailheads other than Happy Isles can get the Half Dome permit included, without the quota affecting that choice. Coming from outside of Yosemite, I'd still stop at the ranger office in Tuolumne Meadows and make sure that you are alright with your Inyo-issued permit, but I bet they'll say you're good to go.

Thanks for the info but this is where I am confused..am I providing this info when I actually go pick up the permit in person, because there is no indication of that on the lottery form. Only where you will be exiting.

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

yes, when you pick up, you go through a pretty long list of things (got a bear canister? know the rules where to camp? then you give them the camp sites in a rough list, and oobvioulsy mention where you exit.)

I think you can just call them to ask about what they say at Inyo about the Half Dome permit, but as far as I know, the quota is only for Happy Isles day hikers who have no other permit.

In Sept 2009 I got a walk-in permit for the JMT, Whitney Portal to Yosemite, and the only thing that mattered was my entry date, the rest was just the formalities re planned camp sites and rule awareness.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Whitney Portal entry permit process here
http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/20/Wilderness_Permit_Options#Post20

Yosemite's web site does not expand on Half Dome permits for non-Yosemite issue, but this is what they say about the normal Yosemite Backpacker permit:


Note: Backpackers with an appropriate wilderness permit can receive a Half Dome permit when they pick up their wilderness permit with no additional reservation required.

To make sure you are ok to go up there, call Yosemite 877/444-6777 and ask if you need to stop at a ranger station to get that permit on top of your Inyo-issued JMT permit.

[Solrider]

Thanks for the help! :sun

[Solrider]

Just thought I'd update that I did not get my permit. I put in as many dates as possible but it was all full. Looks like I'll need to find something else to do for the month of August. Thanks everyone for the help and inspiration!

[Blissful]

Sorry. We don't even know if our hike will go off with all the snow and my hubby is having cardiac testing done right now. We're supposed to go July 7

You could always try for a walk up permit though.

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

Just thought I'd update that I did not get my permit. I put in as many dates as possible but it was all full. Looks like I'll need to find something else to do for the month of August. Thanks everyone for the help and inspiration!


just go there and get a walk in permit. Almost every day you can get one. Look at last year's unsused permit numbers here:

http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/3436#Post3436

august 2010 overnighters and day hike unused - aim for a weekday, 11am at the ranger office. These are numbers AFTER people who went in for a walk in got theirs!




Overnight Day Hike
August 4/1 Unused 4/1 Unused
==== --- ---- --- ----
1 S 0 5 0 0
2 M 0 0 0 13
3 T 0 17 0 34
4 W 0 21 0 1
5 T 0 3 0 8
6 F 0 0 0 12
7 S 0 0 0 0

8 S 0 1 0 7
9 M 0 4 0 21
10 T 0 4 0 8
11 W 0 8 0 16
12 T 0 10 0 6
13 F 0 0 0 2
14 S 0 3 0 0

15 S 0 7 0 0
16 M 0 1 0 6
17 T 0 0 0 3
18 W 0 1 0 1
19 T 0 0 0 5
20 F 0 2 0 2
21 S 0 5 0 2

22 S 0 0 0 0
23 M 0 10 0 23
24 T 0 9 0 7
25 W 0 22 0 11
26 T 0 7 0 14
27 F 0 6 0 6
28 S 0 2 0 0

29 S 0 18 0 2
30 M 0 20 0 30
31 T 0 2 0 10

[Solrider]

Wow! You know I thought about doing that but its a bit of a trek for me to just go sit down there and maybe get a permit....but with those numbers I might need to reconsider! :-?

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

there are worse places to hang around for an extra day than Lone Pine :-)

Just acclimate one more day at the Portal if you don't get the permit, head back down for the next day of no-show permits. A lot of people panic this time of year and plan things to the last minute, then suddenly things change and they can't make it to use their lottery permits. Weather scares others, etc. Weekdays are best to get these permits, but as you can tell from the numbers, there are a lot of permits that go unused, even after people like me collect a few of the no-shows. the local guys who climb Whitney a few dozen times a year never reserve permits. They know it's a waste of time to do that.