Permit for Sonora Pass South to Reds Meadow

[cloudlesssky]

Maverick here's a synopsis:

1) I contacted Yosemite describing my planned hike (PCT section from Sonora Pass to Reds Meadow) and asked if I'd need a Donohue Pass exit permit. The response was "Since you will be starting your trip outside of Yosemite National Park, you will have to refer to the Forest Service and Emigrant Wilderness regulations"

2) I contacted Stanislaus NF and was told "It is my understanding that JMT and Donohue Pass is only issued by Yosemite Wilderness folks. We have been directed Not to issue any exiting Wilderness Passes for those areas. We can however, issue Wilderness Pass up-to those areas but you might get held at that point by the Yosemite folks."

3) I asked Stanislaus NF for further clarification since I was hiking the PCT which is coincident with the JMT for only a minor section of my hike. The response was "I believe the PCT and JMT are the same trail at the exit point of Yosemite in question (Donahue Pass), and as you know, there is a quota in place for that exit. We (the Stanislaus NF) can issue you a permit from Sonora Pass to as far as Tuolumne Meadows, but that is it. You would need to obtain a permit from Yosemite the rest of the way to Donahue Pass, which may be booked up for the days you would like."

4) I contacted Yosemite again with the info from Stanislaus NF and received the reply "You will need two permits for your hike. As Joel said, Stanislaus NF can issue you a permit from Sonora Pass to Tuolumne Meadows. You can apply for a permit reservation from Yosemite National Park from Tuolumne Meadows to Reds Meadow: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wpres.htm.

5) I asked Yosemite about going the opposite direction (south to north) and received the reply "If you do the trip from south to north, you would only need one permit from Inyo National Forest."

6) I went to Recreation.gov and booked a permit from Red Cones/Mammoth Pass to Sonora Pass (south to north).

I can provide the email trail if it's helpful.

[maverick]

PM sent.

[maverick]

Spoke to the Yosemite Wilderness Manager today, here are some of the issues in a nutshell, as they pertain to your case.

Yosemite has the Donohue Pass quota system in place on an interim basis, they plan to control/monitor the southbound hikers affects on the Lyell corridor.

Stanislaus NF and other northern NF agencies have voluntarily pulled their thru hike permits to allow Yosemite to deal with the current situation, Yosemite has no jurisdiction on what Stanislaus can/cannot issue, but they are doing it out of courtesy according to Yosemite.

Yosemite is in the process of having their permits system handed over to an outside source, similar to rec.gov, which they are hoping will make securing permits an easier endeavor, will see, but when you have people obtaining wilderness permits from the surrounding NFS wilderness offices, only to drive into Yosemite to do Half Dome, and thereby getting around the current quota system, something needs to be done, but finding the right solution is going to take time, and even then it is not going to make everyone happy.

The whole system needs to be overhaul and streamlined, some agencies issue there own permits, some have outside vendors (rec.gov) doing it for them, and some write handwritten permits, the whole thing is a big cluster.