Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Rangers checking JMT permits in Yosemite Valley?

I have a JMT permit from Happy Isles to Sunrise/Merced Lake, but a friend of mine might come along. I couldn't get another Happy Isles for her, so I got Tuolomne for the day after mine starts. I thought we could start at Happy Isles together and get all the way to the Tuolomne backpacker's campground ... but I saw this while reading someone's earlier message on hiking the JMT in summer.




A Dec. 2007 Backpacker mag. article actually suggests that if you can't get a Happy Isles permit, get one for Tuolomne and "dayhike" all the way there the day before your permit date.

The guy at the wilderness permits office said the permit just specifies where you're allowed to camp on the first night, so I thought rangers would check permits only in the camping areas and not on the trail itself.

But from Steve's post, sounds like she could be "illegal"
Would she be turned back if we said we were going to the Tuolomne backpacker's campground?
Thanks!

The permit additionally refers to your entry point, not only where you camp the first night. Since Happy Isles is probably the most popular entry point, rangers are along the trail just prior to LYV and checking permits of anyone w/ a backpack. I personally saw them question someone w/ a backpack that had a permit for the Hetch Hetchy area and turned their entire party around. Since the valley is one of the heaviest impacted areas of the park, they enforce this strictly.

In the BP article about the 7 Day JMT trip they had stashed their packs at TM and then spent the night in the valley. They then started at HI with only hydration packs. They looked like day hikers.

avid

My son and I did the JMT in 2006. We got our dates straight too late to get a Happy Isles entry permit. We ended up starting off with day hikes. We never saw a ranger in the first 100+ miles. However, we were clearly warned that a day hike is a day hike. If a ranger checks your permit, he will not accept overnight gear as being consistent with a day hike.

We managed to persuade my wife and mother in law that a couple of days in the Yosemite area would be a great thing. We drove to Yosemite Valley together and my son and I did the first two days as day hikes: Happy Isles to Tuolumne Meadows and Tuolumne Meadows to Mammoth. We then took off on an unsupported backpack trip to Whitney Portal. Had we been able to get a Tuolumne entry permit, we could have gotten away with one day hike.

Lacking a support crew, I could imagine arranging to store a backpack in Tuolumne Meadows for a night.

hey runnergirl, here is a option that might work for you. why risk starting off your trip by getting turned around or trying a death march all the way up to tuolumne in 1 day.get your permit that starts at mono meadow on the road to glacier point or even from glacier point itself. you can take the bus up from the valley that morning, the bus driver will drop you off at the trailhead if you let him/her know before hand. almost no one starts off from there, i would think it would be easy to get a permit and you join the jmt at the top of nevada falls. for the hard core who would say that you didn't hike the whole jmt- big deal. you miss the first 2.5 miles of asphalt trail, crowded with a bunch of out of shape tourist. if you want to do that section the day before as a quickie day hike, come back down have a cold one and get ready for the real hiking the next day. that might solve your problem and still be "legal", just a thought.

Death march? Oh, man! On the JMT, I don't see how one can have a death march that does not involve the Golden Staircase.

Amen, brother!

Maybe I was having an exceptionally good day, but my one time going up the Golden Staircase seemed pleasant. Maybe it was because that was just a couple days after doing the switchbacks from Crown Valley into Tehipite Valley.

Thanks, everyone! It's good to know to expect a trail patrol, before it's too late. If she winds up coming, I think she can just send her backpack ahead to the Tuolomne post office.

In our case, the trip over Muir Pass that morning may have had something to do with it. It just got to be a long day. In any case, we remember the Golden Staircase as the one place on the whole trail where we lacked spring in our steps.

Runnergirl,
Why don't you see if you can get a permit for your friend starting at Glacier Point. Then, you and your friend can just start at HI. That's what my friends did when they did the JMT two years ago. Good luck.
Greg Lukenbill

Hi Greg,

I tried for Glacier Point too on the first day to apply, but my August date was already full. I'm sure the hike from Glacier point to the valley is great too, so I'll just do that as a day hike. I have a few days in Yosemite before I leave.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Runnergirl, in the other Yosemite thread, I pointed out that there is also a 30 person quota on the same trail for people camping at Little Yosemite Valley. Did you specifically ask for a permit from that quota? I would sure try.

As for the Glacier Point hike, make it even more fun: Hike up the 4-mile trail starting on the valley floor, go up to Glacier Point, buy snacks or a lunch at the little store there, then complete the loop via Nevada falls. It is a great 12-mile loop hike.

Hi,

Yes, that one filled up on that day too!

Thanks for the Glacier Point suggestion - I'll add that to my planned day hike!