Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Entering the following day for an overnight permit

We have an overnight permit for starting on a Friday in August but may be delayed starting on the trail until Saturday. Anyone forsee any problems with this?

Thanks.

Entering on the wrong day is like entering without a permit at all… it only matters if you get caught.

Yeah I thought about that. I'm just curious if they've taken to checking for permits at the trail head. After that you can pretty much be anywhere on the mountain and should be fine (I assume).

Seems to me the main problem is that you don't have a permit; you have a reservation. Unless the rules have changed.

Do you mean you may not be able to get to Lone Pine by your entry day? Or you can get there but for some reason can't get started on the trail?

As I understand it, you have to pick up the permit at the IAVC the day before or early the day of entry. If you are going to get a permit at all, you will have be in Lone Pine on or before your entry date. Does that change things?

Aas far as the basic rule goes, this is from the Recreation.gov Inyo page:

Entry Date and Exit Date

One permit is valid for the whole trip, be sure to indicate the full trip.
Trips cannot be longer than 14 days in one area.
Entry date is the day you will begin walking the trail. The Exit date is the day you will come off the trail.
All of your group must start on the entry date listed on your permit. Your permit will be invalid if you miss your entry date.
Do not include vacation days that are not part of the backpacking trip like campgrounds or motels the night before or after the trip.
For Mt. Whitney Day Use, the entry and exit day would be the same, that is the day you are hiking on the trail.

Yeah, I should have been more specific. It's a reservation. Picking up the permit on the entry date won't be a problem. It's just that there may be a logistics issue for one our party and we may not be able to get out until the wee hours of Saturday.

I saw that note about the entry date. However once you're on the mountain, they don't particularly know when you've started so it shouldn't be an issue. However if they check at the start of the trail then we may have a problem. I've been stopped before mid-mountain for a permit check but haven't seen this at the start, so just wondering if others have run across this.

Thanks both for taking the time on this!

One way to go may be to get your party minus the one to Lone Pine Lake on time the first night and meet the late guy right at the wilderness boundary nearby on day 2. You will mostly be in compliance: it would take a pretty hard-ass ranger to press you having made the best effort you could to comply. Also, chances are fair that the one guy could get a legit walk-in for the second day, or hook up with a party that is short on bodies and long on permits, and the rest of you would be completely in compliance. I would at least make that effort.

You also have a few months to hook him up with a stray res. for the Saturday, or another party, and this board is a pretty good place to do that, too.

Exactly which Saturday in August are you talking about?

That's the some guy who checked me for a permit last summer...
I wouldn't break the rules while he's around...
Seriously!

Yep: he looks hard-ass enough. Better go for full compliance: find a Saturday permit for your straggler.

This man I know...he appears out of nowhere in the Sierra Nevada...the locals know him as "some guy"...

They say he's as "Hard as Rock" well, you know what i mean, What about Bob?

checked me too last summer. I'll bet he catches quite a few scofflaws every year. Most people know Ranger Bob is a member here. Hilarious.

I'm suprised no one mentioned the option of checking to see if the dates are available when you go pick up the permit from your reservation; and have them issue the permit for the days you want. Essentially a 'walk-in'.

Top Gun quote (instead of my usual mountaineering quotes)

Viper: "Top Gun rules of engagement are written for your safety and for that of your team. They are not flexible, nor am I. Either obey them or you are history."

You never know when some guy is going to step from behind a tree, rock, waterfall, or whatever. If you don't have your paperwork in order it could make for a bad day. Otherwise it will be the most pleasant, cordial learning experience of your trip.