2021 trips booked?

[grampy]

@dprice1 -
The Sierra NF permits haven’t gone online yet; supposedly in March (no date announced yet).
See this :
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sierra/p ... ev7_018115
Note that the article says they will be online “like” the Inyo permit system; it doesn’t state they will be “lumped in” with the Inyo NF permits.

[SSSdave]

There is a solution to the overbooking issue. Providing incentive to cancel like reimbursement for processing fees would be too little for many to stop scamming the system. What is needed is a way to verify people have been to whatever trailhead or at least in that region. This requires a hand shake type solution.

That could easily be done by requiring permittees place a signed copy of permit they printed out at home in a near trailhead ranger station night box. Then next day or two forest service checks who was actually was there to list NO SHOWS. Would need a bit of trivial work on database fields adding an abuse count and penalty. Would be a minor added task for permittees driving a wee bit out of their way as many have been using night boxes to pick up permits for years.

Could fix a related issue of only the permittee bothering to read policies by requiring all adults sign it. Might be multiple copies signed so if traveling separately.

If recreation dot gov doesn't fix this, they ought not be surprised if consensus among experienced enthusiasts swings to ignoring quotas and need for a permit policies.

[wildhiker]

I noticed on the Sierra Forest permit web page link provided by grampy that they are going to do away with true walk-up permits, and instead add the 40% of permits normally reserved for walkups back into the reservation.gov website, apparently 14 days in advance. This is like the system used last summer by Inyo National Forest. Another hurdle for those of us who like to decide on our trip location at the last minute - most likely, at least for popular trailheads, the "walk-up" permits will go exactly 14 days in advance, and yet, I suspect some will not show after all.
-Phil

[BSquared]

Hope to get out there for the first time in several years this coming summer. We have a permit in late July for northern Yosemite from Green Lakes TH to Twin Lakes via Matterhorn Canyon. Wish us luck!

[maverick]

Tweeder, you are most welcome!

I originally posted this as a new thread, but it was moved (and buried in this long thread) for some reason and I was worried nobody would see it.

I think it would be helpful to start a new thread about the ins and outs of getting wilderness permits this year using recreation.gov.

Mike

Mike,

There are already several threads about NP and NF wilderness permits, to many, this one has been the more centralized one, in which members are discussing their experiences with the system. That is why your post was moved into this thread.

[Mike M.]

Maverick,

But there is no specific thread about using recreation.gov in 2021. Note that this "2021 trips booked?" thread is about where we're planning to go and what we've booked to date. It includes many side discussions, but only a few posts about the mechanics of using recreation.gov to get a wilderness permit. Another thread, "Wilderness Permit Information," near the top of the Backpacking page, is about wilderness permits in 2020, an extraordinary year in terms of permitting and recreation management. It has been inactive for months.

I respectively suggest we add a thread specifically to address the ins and outs of using recreation.gov in 2021 for booking wilderness permits. It would be very helpful to High Sierra Topix users.

Mike

[maverick]

Separate thread for discussing recreation.gov 2021 started.

[Mike M.]

Thank you, Maverick!

Mike

[rlown]

I book on the Ides of March. We'll see what happens.

[kursavwilage]

I'll get this back on track;
I booked a 10 day trip starting August 12 out of Mineral King over Timber Gap. I'm hoping to get in to the Kaweah Basin since the last time I saw it was 1987, trying to see if it was as special as I remember it. And, I might possibly do the real Pants Pass since the last time that I thought that I did Pants Pass it was really Piss Your Pants Pass....