Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Re: Lottery Processing Progress

FYI... My CC was charged on 3/31 and I rec'ed by confirmation letter today, 4/3. I live in So.Cal, (OC)

Good luck all!!

I just hope this lady reads/visits this Whitney site.

Just received ours today for a day hike August 21!!! It was mailed to my sister-in-law in San Diego (for those SoCal people wondering how far the mail has reached).

Randy, about 75 to 80% of Whitney hikers don't even know about this site. That's what Ken found while he was helping interview hikers for an altitude sickness study several years ago.

If I were you, I would just mail the permit back to Inyo NF with a note. Pamela S will receive her permit about the same time as the last of the remainder.

I'm still waiting to hear. I don't know if the adage "no news is good news" still applies now. I can’t blame it on the postal system and the distance to Washington State; AFields received a response in Texas which is no closer.

I’ve been checking my on-line CC account about 10 times a day, and going to the mailbox is an experience in hope, anticipation and dread… holding my breath as I crack open the box to look.

Maybe I’ll get the “last but not least” permit issued.

I also have not heard either way, and I am in the foothiulls below Tahoe. I am wondering, since I put in for late Sept., if they get the earlier dates out first. Or do they just start sending all the letters out around the same time. At least the good news is I haven't received an rejection notice either.

I got my denial earlier this week and my last date was 9/25. There was a note on my permit application that my chosen dates were "Full" and also a handwritten note that read "no space until Sep 28" - which I felt was a very cool thing to take the time to hand write a note to inform me of possible available space given the huge amount of applications submitted and the time constraints. This person could've just passed it along as "Denied" but that little extra effort put forth proved to me that they really do care about helping everyone get a chance to enjoy this mountain we all love.

Rosabella, I'm in the same boat. Just got back from the mailbox now. I live in OC, and was hoping I'd hear by now.

Now other thoughts are invading my mind like, what if my application TO them got lost in the mail so Inyo never received it; what if my permit (or denial postcard) also got accidentially mailed with someone else's? I know, I'm going nuts. No one needs to tell me. :-)

You're not alone here

Received my congrats letter on 04/03 in Virginia. No C/C hit yet. 4 years of lottery success and one permit by walk in. I'll be doing the one day death march on 08/28. If you think you ever saw sasquatch on the trail, it was me.

Just got denied. I have been planning my first hike to Whitney after cancer AND have been working out vigorously since a brand new hip on October 14th!!! I hiked 25 miles last weekend to Mt Santiago and will do another hike tomorrow, but I was extremely disappointed. My wife, one kid, my friend and his kid have had this planned since before my hip surgery. I am hoping to go and get a day hike or overnight later this summer by just going into the rangers office and asking as many have suggested. Good luck to all of you and hope to see you.

quillansculpture
Whitney is good therapy for cancer. I credit my MW summit 06/20/07 one month before my prostate cancer surgery with my cancer success.I linked a successful summit as a metaphor for being able to overcome cancer.
Good luck with your getting a walk in permit and to your successful cancer survival.Hope the new wheel(hip)works well for you also.

Following up on that, in my slideshow presentations, I rather hammer home the helpfulness of this site to attendees. My impression is that virtually none of them are aware of the site.

I received an update Friday evening:

The last of the reservations paid by check were processed and mailed on Friday.

The remaining unsuccessful letters will be done and mailed Monday (or Tuesday if the phones are busy)

There are still 12 - 16 hours of envelope stuffing. And 12 hours running credit card numbers. Several more hours metering mail. Updating the web page will be last.

Dates still open cannot be requested until later in April or early May. The timetable for requesting remaining slots will be posted on the Availability page when it is done.

Inyo NF staff takes pride in being as fair as possible in the lottery process. Even Forest Service and Wilderness office staff get NO preference.

They have asked for some informal input regarding some preferences. I'll start a new thread for that.

Hi DocRodneydog, Yea, cancer is quite an eye opener. It's been 3 1/2 years since surgery for melanoma. I cannot stress enough to the hikers that they NEED to protect themselves when they hike to the top, as melanoma is a very deadly cancer. Those trails, granite, snow and clear skies on the Whitney Trail make the sun exposure even worse. I know way too many people fighting the melanoma fight right now. I don't want to get on a soapbox, I just want you hikers to be healthy to hike many more years.

Steve C. thanks for your information. I think I'll just send it to her (since her address is on the permit) registered mail, that way I know she'll get it. I find it amazing that so few people know about this site. This is a very helpful resource.
Thanks

Well I didn't do my research in time for the lottery so I am just waiting for Inyo to update their site so I can see what is available... if all else fails I am more than willing to take the chance to go ahead and hope to get a permit the day before because of others' cancellations and no-shows. I really hope to summit this year, and if I succeed it will be the highest mountain I have hiked yet.

Just got my reservation in the mail for my one day permit....Its for Sun 6/21 that was my first choice. Hope everybody else has luck...See ya on the top

Harley

The NFS placed a charge on my credit card this afternoon (Mon). I hope the notice comes in the mail soon so I can let everyone (15 day hikers) know which date we got. This is a week or more behind last year but IT'S ALL GOOD!!!

Friday, 10th, I found the letter in my mail box.

Got my declination letter in the mail today. :-(

Now time to re-apply in early May. In the end, I am summiting Whitney this summer, whether its the main trail or a different route!

Good luck to everyone!