Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Group not hiking together on one permit question

I'm with a group of six, all on one permit, a couple of the hikers are much slower than the rest. How does this work if asked for a permit on the trail? Do we make copies? Do we have to stay together? Do I only need the name of the person the permit was issued to?

Thanks

Everyone should know the name of the person the permit was issued to, and if a ranger asks, just give him/her that name. No need to stay together, and no need to make copies (you'd be hardpressed to find a copy machine in LP anyway).

Edit - it's not a bad idea to know whether the permit holder is ahead/behind, just in case a ranger asks. On one occasion I was sweep (and permit holder) and others in my group were asked by a ranger for the permit. He waited for me to descend and then verified the info. It's been a few years since anyone has asked to see my permit(s), so if the USFS procedure has changed, I'm sure someone will be quick to correct me ...

Just make copies of the permit for the slower hikers. That should suffice.
Greg Lukenbill

Last year, each person in the group received a tag to place in plain view on the outside of their pack. The permit each had the group leaders name on it. There were different colors depending on overnight or day hike as I recall.

I've got a group of 10 going up on 20 JUN (our USMC Harrier pilots & fellow AV-8B engineers along with some CLMRG members &, the star of the show...Doug Sr! :D). 4 of us are going up the MR and the rest, the MWMT. I was planning on making one copy of the permit for the folks going up the other route. All I know is that I am to pick up my reservation at the lock box by the ranger station (since I'll be arriving after hours). I guess if you really want to know what to do, call the MT Whitney Ranger Station at 760-876-6200. They are a friendly bunch and truly are "the source" of permit information (and they like cookies et such).

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/contact/index.shtml

Yeah, last year there were light blue tags for day hikes and yellow tags for overnight.

I'd also add that whether or not they give you a tag may depend upon the time of year. I was up there a few weeks ago and the ranger just gave me the paperwork - no tag. This has happened in past years as well - maybe there's a "high season" when they issue tags. I haven't paid too much attention to the timing.

The last time I was up there with a large group and I was the permit holder was early June, 2006. We just got paperwork (no tags) but no one asked to see our permits on that trip either. Later that year I did as a day hike a couple of times solo and got a tag as well.

Kevin, I think you're right about the timing thing. Photos from recent TR's show no tags either. When I went, it was a Saturday in the middle of July (7/14/07), although I saw overnighters who came back during the week with tags. Maybe they only issue tags in the peak months of July and August? I'm heading up on 7/1 so I guess I'll find out.

EDIT: Fred, yep the day hike tags were a teal color.

Tim,
    I did a day hike last October and my tag was a blue-green color. Your tag appears a shade lighter in the picture, but that probably was due to the glare of your flash. I assume that it was the same color as my tag.

    The first time that I got a tag was in 2005 (I did not get one in 2004). I remember getting a green tag that year for a day hike.

The actual permit sheet is really a signed agreement by the group leader to abide by the wilderness rules. Since you cannot get copies of your permits made before you arrive in Lone Pine, it would be hard to make copies for everyone in your group. That is where the tags come in. As long as you can specify the name of your group leader on the trail, you should be okay. That information is provided on your tag. The group leader is legally responsible for the entire group.

Several years ago there were 6 of us on one permit, each with a blue-green tag with the name of the guy who applied for the permit. We were nowhere near together, hiked in groups of 3-2-1, sometimes a mile apart. Rangers did check the tags of each member in all 3 groups at different times and seemed satisfied that "group leader" was someplace on the trail.

On most trails rangers will ask the group leader to show the actual permit. They also will keep track of the number of people that they count in each group they pass. I am little surprised that nobody was asked for the permit.

TimL - Yes, I thought it could have either been timing or maybe an oversight on the part of the ranger? I guess one of the things I'm trying to get across here is - don't sweat the permit details. So long as you have one, either you or the permit holder in your party, then the rest will take care of itself. It's not like the rangers are going to throw you off the mountain, although I suppose they could. So long as you could produce evidence that you have it should it be necessary to prove it at some point. It's surprising how many permits/tags, etc I've found that people have lost, whether it's Whitney, Shasta, Mt St Helens, etc. It happens - a strong gust of wind, and away it goes, sometimes without you realizing it.

I also like to throw out something that's different this year - it's off-topic so I apologize. When I was at the VC a few weeks ago it was obvious to me the two young men manning the permit desk were real rangers - the right look, tan lines, etc. It was a bit early in the year for the college interns anyway, but in a brief conversation with one of the rangers he told me his boss was new to this jurisdiction (he'd come from Shasta) and some changes were being made. One was that they would probably have few, if any, interns during the summer months, and that field rangers would rotate regularly thru the VC. The rangers have a wide area they patrol, but thought the conditions report report for the Whitney trail, along with the MR, would be a bit more timely than in the past.

Shasta is one of the USFS areas I visit on a regular basis, and have always felt the quality of the info they provided, along with the snow rangers you'd meet regularly on the mountain, was first-rate. You'd see the same faces year after year, and it was obvious people enjoyed their work, etc - all the signs of a well-run outfit. I think this bodes well for the services of the VC in Lone Pine.

Am not suggesting that there was anything substandard in the past - not at all, and the scope of the VC at Lone Pine is vastly different and broader than the ranger station at Shasta. What I am suggesting is that for that narrow range of info which hikers/climbers depend on - what can I expect up on the mountain - Shasta was the best I've experienced personally, with the ranger station at Trout Lake, WA a close second.

For several years now, each member of a group has been given an individual tag to attach to their pack. It has the last name of your group leader on it, so there shouldn't be any need to make copies of the permit for anyone. If you switch from
your full pack to a daypack for the summit, just put your tag on the daypack.

some years they have not handed out individual group tags. You should always know who your trip leader is. When you get your pass they tell you to know the leader and the permit number. Any Ranger can call it in to base to verify - so I would not try the BS game.

When I went up 2 weeks ago we weren't given individual tags, just one permit. Saw a ranger on the way up but he never asked to see the permit. Maybe they only do when it is busier? It was my first time so I don't know.