Petition To Change Back To Pre-Covid Walk-in Permit System

[freestone]

This morning I booked Sawmill for entering July 19, no issues but got the "too busy" messages at 7AM for other Eastside entries such as Bishop and Cottonwood. McGee Pass still had plenty of openings but forgot to check out Pine Creek. Shepard had openings but the snow tongue on the east side could still be a factor in July.

Now I feel like I have to plan my trips according to what is available for my selected dates.
The Yosemite and Whitney processes are way better. the Whitney lottery has been in place several seasons now so Inyo really has no excuse for leaving the present system in place as is.

[Bishop_Bob]

I expect the frenzy to grab permits in January will have an inverse relationship to the number of people in the backcountry in July, just like it's been the past couple of years.

[Wandering Daisy]

I am not clear on the point of your post. Do you mean that most people will not go nor cancel, making the wilderness less crowded? If so, I do not see that as anything to celebrate. As nice as less people on the trails for the person who is lucky enough to get a permit in the first place, it is a de-facto method to deny permits and make quotas a sham unless walk-ins are reinstated. I hope you meant that more permits would become available throughout the summer so more of us have a second chance.

[Bishop_Bob]

Do you mean that most people will not go nor cancel, making the wilderness less crowded? If so, I do not see that as anything to celebrate.

I agree. I didn't realize my post could be interpreted as celebratory.

(I)t is a de-facto method to deny permits and make quotas a sham unless walk-ins are reinstated.

I agree that the quotas in this system are a sham (though some will argue the semantics of using that term). In my prior post, I started to type a mini rant but stopped doing so, figuring it's been said on this thread so frequently. I fact, I mini-ranted earlier (maybe in this thread) describing my surprise about a campground in Yellowstone that was only 1/3 occupied last summer despite the requirement to book a site several months in advance. I see the same thing happening with backcountry permits.

I hope you meant that more permits would become available throughout the summer so more of us have a second chance.

Dunno. I am one of the quick-fingered types that have been swift to get my permits as soon as they become available, so during the past 2 years of the new regime, I haven't sought a walkup.

[balzaccom]

We're already well along with planning our summer adventures. Yes, it's still only the end of January. But we've already managed to get our California campfire permit, which allows us to cook in the backcountry (pending the obvious fire restrictions) and a California fishing license, so that we can while away the hours in distant lakes and streams.

But that's only half the story. With the current COVID restrictions playing havoc with the various departments and organizations that manage our wilderness, we've still been lucky in landing a permit for a backpacking trip in Yosemite through their lottery system, and another through the Inyo National Forest (think John Muir and Ansel Adams Wildernesses) for later in the month.

Given our success, it's well worth your while to play the lottery game with Yosemite, and to keep those fingers nimble for the Inyo permits, which are made available each morning at 7 a.m. PDT.

Don't get me wrong. We did not get on our computer at 6:45 a.m. and wait, fingers poised, to get a permit. We went on a couple of days later and scored a permit for a slightly less popular trailhead. We're happy

[Bishop_Bob]

Having spent this past week getting shut out from my preferred TH immediately at 8AM, I'm calling BS. Could bots be at play?

[balzaccom]

Well, depending on which time zone, you may be coming to the party an hour late. What I've seen says the system opens at 7 a.m. Pacific Time...

But the popular trailheads fill up within seconds. That is absolutely true.

[Bishop_Bob]

Having spent this past week getting shut out from my preferred TH immediately at 8AM, I'm calling BS. Could bots be at play?

I should've specified 8AM Mountain, when the permits become available.

[LMBSGV]

I managed to get a Piute Pass permit at 7:00 am. When I looked at the trailhead list after finishing the process, there were "Ws" on all the popular trailheads. When I looked again after the 15 minute cut-off, there were available permits on Bishop Pass, Kearsarge Pass, McGee Pass, Pine Creek, the River Trail, and the High Trail. It was only two or three at each location, but it shows that people are either going to multiple locations at 7:00 and then not completing the purchase when they get their first choice, are using bots, or are commercial outfitters who don't click the "Yes" button as to whether it's a commercially guided trip. It would be nice to know if commercial outfitters are cheating the existing system and if they are, they should lose their license.

[Wandering Daisy]

RANT!

No need to speculate "why". The system itself is ripe for abuse of all kinds. The system stinks, Inyo knows it, but is doing nothing about it. They do not even now have the data to see if the permits are being used or not. Reserve.gov has been used for campground reservations for years and has proven to result in unused sites (no real incentive to cancel) while many are shut out. How could they not have seen this is also what would happen with backpack permits?

It is my year to backpack in Wyoming, so I am not significantly impacted. I will try get my shoulder season Sierra permits in the 2-week "first come" window.