High Sierra Topix

Just used the new online system for the first time for my Sept trip. Not too bad other than finding your entry point correctly. Seems pretty complete in terms of places one might want to camp. Even lets you pick your permit pickup station.. for Me, that's the Mono overlook.

It seems pretty rad. Although for my upcoming trip i had a hard time finding the places to make the itinerary. Other than that though it works out great!

-Mike

On my two trips so far this year, the system wouldn't let the permitting ranger put in the first night camp spot either time. The ranger thought it was because it was "too far" for the first day, so the system couldn't comprehend it. Really, I'm not that fast!

Used it to reserve my trip out of Pine Creek months ago. I did have some issues finding the correct trail/destinations, but it just took a little research to figure it out. I'd say the site is definitely geared toward the informed user, which is a good thing.

Now I just like to check it every week to see if many other parties are reserved on the same trail around my dates. So far it looks like we'll practically have it to ourselves. (Yes, I just jinxed it.)

You can't make many changes after you book the permit reservation. I had a permit reserved and I wanted to add a second leader to the permit so someone else could pick up the permit. I couldn't do that after I had booked the permit. Also, you can't cancel a permit and expect the spaces to be available to other people right away. They take a few days to show as open and they can't give you any idea when they will be available in advance.

KathyW wrote: Also, you can't cancel a permit and expect the spaces to be available to other people right away. They take a few days to show as open and they can't give you any idea when they will be available in advance.

I read somewhere that this delay is intentional and random to prevent a secondary permit market from working. Not sure if this is true, but I did read it on the internet so it must be true...

jimmeans wrote:I read somewhere that this delay is intentional and random to prevent a secondary permit market from working

That makes sense - along with limited changes. Otherwise you could grab some of the more limited permits and then rejigger trips later. For example Trail Crest exits are one of the hardest to get, and availability is driven by start date. So if you had a month long trip you could book it 7 months in advance. If you could change or cancel later then you would be able to rebook the entry later on and keep the Trail Crest exit permits (note that now you only lose the $6 booking fee not the whole cost so changing your mind is less costly than before).