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if I show up the day before I may be able to get a permit for the next day
I thought it was... "if you show up after 11AM on the target date", you can score an unused permit. Also, I think there is also unreservable permits available as well. I hope so, my plans are to go over Taboose on labor day weekend Saturday and all the reserved passes are gone for that date.
I am going solo, so no bucking the system for me. I do not have a SPOT so I need all the correct accountablity possible in case they have to scrap me off the rocks.
if I show up the day before I may be able to get a permit for the next day
I thought it was... "if you show up after 11AM on the target date", you can score an unused permit. Also, I think there is also unreservable permits available as well. I hope so, my plans are to go over Taboose on labor day weekend Saturday and all the reserved passes are gone for that date.
I am going solo, so no bucking the system for me. I do not have a SPOT so I need all the correct accountablity possible in case they have to scrap me off the rocks.
I was told to show up at 11 AM the day before by the Inyo Forest Service.
I have gone out several times without the permit. I make a good effort to get a permit, but if the permit is not possible due to the FS or Park Service mistake, I leave them a note and go out. I am in their system so if they really wanted to "bust" me they could. I do not do this on a regular basis- a few times in the last 4 years. I have also obtained a permit once and due to complications (wrong information from the ranger) I was unable to get on the trail the day of the permit, so I just went out the next day. I am not going to be unsafe (walk out in the dark) just because the permit says a certain day. However, when I have a large group, I ALWAYS get the permit. On the less used trailheads, I wish they would extend the "self-register" season or have it self register year round. I think the permit system helps them manage the resource, but I am not going to go far out of my way to get the piece of paper if I have made the required effort to get the permit and they failed to come through on their end. I do not "sneak" in - I let them know where I am. I am not being a rebel, just practical.
Wandering Daisy wrote: I think the permit system helps them manage the resource, but I am not going to go far out of my way to get the piece of paper if I have made the required effort to get the permit and they failed to come through on their end. I do not "sneak" in - I let them know where I am. I am not being a rebel, just practical.
Well said.
I always attempt to get the permit and make all the necessary and required steps but if something gets dropped on their end I will not let it spoil my time off or plans. As it is, my time off is limited and must be planned for ahead of time.
In Yosemite it is $75 for no permit, and up to $5000 for letting a bear get food/not having an approved canister. And the ranger takes you out of the wilderness.
I actually watched a ranger on horseback above Glen Aulin turn a couple of my friends around as they didn't have a permit. Late '80's but there was no fine. He did follow them out though.
Outside of the NPS, i might risk it, but not in the park. Heck, on our pack trip in July south of Yose, they permitted us on a different trail than the packer took us up on.
When I grew up backpacking in Idaho, permits were never required. I understand they are now required on one of the most popular areas in the Sawtooths, but for the most part it is still self-registration at the trailhead.
To people who grow up without permits, the concept of getting a permit months in advance seems completely counterintuitive to the idea of entering the wilderness. I do it and understand why it is necessary, but the notion that you can "manage" a primeval experience just seems wrong. For those who prize solitude as the sine qua non of the backpacking experience, permits advertise the fact that entering the wilderness is not going to feel like entering a real wilderness.
Personally, I love the incredible scenic beauty of the Sierras and will put up with other people to see it. But Sierra-only folks find it hard to imagine that there are places in the west that you can hike for 50 miles on maintained trails in near total solitude.
Sometimes you just have to be a scofflaw. I did so once with a friend in the Grand Canyon. There were no permits available when we got there and we would never get another chance to go back so we opted to press on anyway regardless of the possible consequences. We were only busted on the way out and received a fine which we paid by mail. It was worth it and as I have never been back, I would do it again in a heartbeat rather than miss the opportunity.
