2021 trips booked?

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grampy
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Re: 2021 trips booked?

Post by grampy »

OutdoorRandy wrote: Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:03 am Does anyone know the time of day that Inyo National Forest permits are available on Recreation.gov? I got up at midnight (PDT) to book a permit for 7/18/21 (6 months out). They were not released. I checked again around 6am. Still not released. I just checked at 8am and all of the permits for the trailhead I want to go out of are all booked.
The traditional release time has been 7:00 AM (Pacific), though certain periods last year (due to software changes or whatever) it was midnight. I would check at BOTH times if you’re going for a popular trailhead.
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dave54
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Re: 2021 trips booked?

Post by dave54 »

Everything still up in the air for us.

We are on the list for vaccinations, awaiting the call. Both over 65, so we should be soon.
Considering the trip to Disneyland with the grandkids that got covidized last summer. We canceled our annual snowbird trip to Arizona this winter, so I am home in the snow and cold -- bah humbug!

I have a lot of bucket list trips penciled out, just waiting for conditions to improve so I can start checking them off.
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Bishop_Bob
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Re: 2021 trips booked?

Post by Bishop_Bob »

OutdoorRandy wrote: Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:03 am Does anyone know the time of day that Inyo National Forest permits are available on Recreation.gov? I got up at midnight (PDT) to book a permit for 7/18/21 (6 months out). They were not released. I checked again around 6am. Still not released. I just checked at 8am and all of the permits for the trailhead I want to go out of are all booked.
I saw the same question asked recently (on reddit, I think), and the answer was 7AM Pacific time.
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OutdoorRandy
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Re: 2021 trips booked?

Post by OutdoorRandy »

Thank you for your quick reply. I can confirm that it is 7am PDT. Just booked South Lake to North Lake via the Ionian Basin.
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b_k
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Re: 2021 trips booked?

Post by b_k »

I noticed that some Inyo permit dates on recreation.gov were no longer available for reservations, just walk-up, so I just called & spoke to an Inyo NF ranger in Bishop. The ranger said that the 'walk-up' process this season will be through reservations booked on recreation.gov & that unsurprisingly, reservations were going quickly. The 'walk-up' permits will be released 2 weeks before the permit date, at 7am Pacific/10am Eastern time. It will be interesting to see if there's a last-minute surge on these permits since they can be booked from home (not in person) & folks can monitor the pandemic situation for a bit longer before committing.
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Teresa Gergen
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Re: 2021 trips booked?

Post by Teresa Gergen »

This is the same walk-in procedure that they (eventually) went to last year. It's not helpful since some activities really need a last minute decision based on weather, wildfire smoke in the vicinity, etc. Although I'm happy with the new advanced permit situation where you can request your actual permit 14 days in advance and get it through email, I really hope eventually they go back to the old walk-in procedure.

Last year, if you thought your trip was a go and either requested your advance permit, or got an online walk-in permit, 14 days in advance through email, and then had to change your plans because of weather at the last moment, there wasn't any point in bothering to cancel - you wouldn't get a refund, and there wasn't time for the slots to go back into the walk-in pool. They really need to go back to a "walk-in" system that's actually day-of/day-before, however they implement it.

I don't know why they can't divide the whole permit concept into two parts - a "backcountry rules" part and an actual trail/date permit part. The "backcountry rules" part could be like the CA campfire permit - watch a video, take a test, get a certificate good for one year. Remove all of the time and effort from what used to be the permit pickup procedure once and for all. The certificate would have a personal number that you would have to enter in recreation.gov to request a trail/date permit - you wouldn't be allowed to reserve a permit in the first place without having a valid number. Inyo could then have software that just automatically sent out an email for each reserved permit 2 days before the start date that said, either confirm or cancel this before 10 am on the day of the permit. If you confirm, it would automatically mail you your actual permit as soon as you confirm. If you cancel, it would automatically put your slots back into a usable walk-in pool. This would simulate the old system while automating all the parts that were slow and annoying. The email with your permit could even have a link to the video with the backcountry rules so you could watch it again if you felt like you needed a refresher.
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morganrd13
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Re: 2021 trips booked?

Post by morganrd13 »

I finally planned ahead and easily booked a 5-day southern JMT trip for late July. Horsehoe Meadows/Cottonwood Lakes, exiting Whitney Portal. I've read that as long as you are coming from the west, you can summit Mt. Whitney. That's our plan. Short day 4 to Trail Camp, summit Whitney. Can anyone confirm this? Or would I need a separate permit to summit Whitney?
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Enigmagic
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Re: 2021 trips booked?

Post by Enigmagic »

morganrd13 wrote: Fri Jan 22, 2021 8:40 am I finally planned ahead and easily booked a 5-day southern JMT trip for late July. Horsehoe Meadows/Cottonwood Lakes, exiting Whitney Portal. I've read that as long as you are coming from the west, you can summit Mt. Whitney. That's our plan. Short day 4 to Trail Camp, summit Whitney. Can anyone confirm this? Or would I need a separate permit to summit Whitney?
Permits issued by Inyo, like your Cottonwood Lakes permit, are subject to the Trail Crest exit quota. If you have a Whitney Portal exit on your permit and paid the Whitney Zone fee you are good to go. There is no restriction on the summit from the west, just Trail Crest. You also need to carry a wag bag between Crabtree and Whitney Portal.
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Re: 2021 trips booked?

Post by Wandering Daisy »

Although "walk-up" permits are released 2 weeks in advance, does anyone know if they will be available at shorter notice, like a day or two?

I do not see how getting a permit 2 weeks in advance can even called a walk up permit. I think that underfunding and the staff time it takes to do walk-in permits is driving the current permitting as much as COVID.

Teresa- the idea of getting "certified" would streamline the process, but I would not hold my breath. I have experienced this method unofficially- the fellow at the Mono Visitor Center who does permits recognized me and immediately gives me a permit- no talk. I am in their system with so many past permits, that they just wave me on.
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Enigmagic
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Re: 2021 trips booked?

Post by Enigmagic »

Wandering Daisy wrote: Fri Jan 22, 2021 11:12 am Although "walk-up" permits are released 2 weeks in advance, does anyone know if they will be available at shorter notice, like a day or two?
I saw Inyo permits available a few days in advance last year, didn't end up trying to book any though. Yosemite "walk up" permits were available between 9 and 14 (iirc) days in advance. They wouldn't even let me make exit trailhead changes on permits starting in less than 9 days. So you know what I did instead..
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