Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Unused Permit Availability @ USFS Lone Pine office

Before I waste the gas to drive up to Lone Pine from San Diego, I need some advice.

If I show up at 11am on Thursday, July 10th at the Lone Pine permit office, what are my chances of receiving a one day permit for the MW Main Trail the following day, Friday, July 11th?

I know there are knowledgeable folks on this board who know the approximate odds and number of unused permits. Would you take your chances?

I appreciate the advice and help, thanks very much, love this board!

Based upon my experience, I'd say your chances of getting a permit for a Friday dayhike are pretty damn good.

You might consider calling them, either before you leave or enroute to make sure. I doubt they could hold one for you - that's the purpose of the reservation service afterall- but I think they'd tell you the status of reservations at that point in time.

Only the cancellations become available at 11 am. You have to wait until 2 pm for the no-shows to become available. Either way, the odds are excellent that you will get a permit when you show up at the Visitors Center.

If you are that concerned about avilalbility, try calling the wilderness permit office on Tuesday or Wednesday to see if there are any cancellations avilable (see <- WP Options Step 5). Of course, you would have to pay $15 to make a reservation, but that is only equivalent to 3 gallons of gasoline these days.

I was able to change my Tues Wed overnight to a Thurs/ Fri overnight pass over the phone with a $10 service charge. I called every day for a week and got it changed. They were very accomodating.

Bill G (in San Diego)

Since we're on the topic of unused permits for next week...

My two compadres and I are hoping to get overnight permits for Whitney either on Wed 7/9 or the next day (or the next or...) to begin our northbound hike of the John Muir Trail. Is Lady Luck on my side?

It sounds like you have some flexibility in your schedule, so you should be okay. Wednesdays usually have low demand.