Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Climbing without permit

As stated, I am climbing the Mt. on Wed. How can I do it without a permit. Is there a checkin point? What is the fine if caught? Any info would be helpful (not trying to not pay, but there is not enough time for me to get a permit.) Thanks,

Now that you have posted, the ranger will be watching for you. Inyo NF people read this board too, you know.

But why don't you give the Visitor Center a call tomorrow, and ask if they would be kind enough to leave a permit in the overnight pickup box for you. They do that all the time for late-night arrivers who have reservations. ...in fact, if you spend the $15 on the reservation (which may be too late, already, but there ARE PLENTY available), I am sure they would accommodate you with a night-box pickup.

Looking at "step 5" in Versatile Fred's Permit Reservation Decision Tree, if you had called on Monday, $15 would have reserved a permit for Wednesday, which they could have put in the night pickup box on Tuesday. But call and ask anyway. Let us know what you find out.

You most likely will be checked. Without a permit you will be turned around, without a permit and you are obnoxious you will be turned around and fined...and, yes, I have seen this happen with my own eyes.

Permits are fairly easy to acquire. Just stop into the IVAC before 11 AM and get a priority number. BTW, permits are free...it's the reserving that costs money.

Last July, we walked in at 10 AM on a Friday picked up a backpacking permit and were on the trail by noon. This means, there were plenty leftover from the daily lottery for cancellations.

Since you consider yourself special and above the rules I'm sure if you just tell the checkpoint ranger "I don't want to follow the rules and I don't think I should have to because I'm special"
he will sense your superiority and just let you slide on by without a permit.

Virtual reality -- there are several videos of the Whitney hike available on the Web for free.

Yes, a very special one for people who are too good for permits.

Not high enough, evidently.

Of the two times I've been there, I've been checked twice. To pay $15 dollars to ensure that there aren't 5000 people on the trail at one time and to get the other wonderful services of the National Forest Service is the best value I have seen in some time. I don't think you can even park at Disneyland for that.

I have known of people being fined several hundred dollars apiece for hiking the Whitney trail without a permit, or having a permit but entering on the wrong day. I don't know the maximum, but for another relatively innocuous transgression (camping in a permit-required area without a permit), the CFR states that the maximum penalty is $5000 or 6 months in jail, or both.

But you are on your way now, and I won't guess whether we'll hear from you again, or not. I hope not.

Well said! That is exactly right!! Because our salary is so dismal, no health plan, no retirement, we LOVE to rub shoulders with superior people. A simple acknowledgment that we rangers breathe the same special air is enough. "Go right ahead sir! Perhaps you'd like to carry this small piece of paper back with you. Sign here!"

Working at a permit station once, I had a guy surreptitiously pull out his Sierra Club card when told the quota had been filled that day. Normally, for one person, I'd let it slide and give a permit. But for him, no way.

g.

That is hilarious. When the Sierra Club card didn't work did he go for the REI membership card?

It will be interesting, now that he is on the trail (he arrived last nite and hit the trail early today) if he encounters any rangers checking permits. I think we all certainly hope so, and that he will have to contribute his hard earned cash to the system, AND get off the mountain. It's people like this that have no care or regard for the area, much less preserving it. As Bob R. put it, I hope we do not hear from him again, except maybe to hear from him complaining about the large amount of the fine Go rangers!!

WHoa Mapman! That's pretty harsh. The world is full of all different perspectives, and I for one am not in your "we all certainly hope" group.

Over the years, I have come to believe that working within the system is probably better, but I still rant sometimes about too many rules and overly strict policies.

GoForGold is probably young and inexperienced. Give him some time, and he will likely be more willing to work within the process. I DO hope we hear from him again.

Yes, it may sound harsh, however, whether he is an experienced hiker or not (he says he is), laws and regulations are black and white and need to be followed; goforgold wanted to know how to avoid the regulation/law and not work within the system, and I don't agree with that. We are a nation of laws, and I know we all do not agree with them, but they are in place. As for being harsh, I apologize that I included "all of us" in my statement. I speak only for myself.

Mapman, I had a lot harsher words to say, but only I wound up hitting the back arrow key to erase what I had typed.

I have paid my $15 dues, left no trace, lived to enjoy, and did it all over again with my friends and family. I don't like "bandits."

If he did not obtain his permit and this individual eludes the rangers, I "hope" he has an uneventful hike in avoiding injury and SAR.

I hope he gets caught and gets what it's coming to him as far as the maximum fine.

If he has obtained a permit, then I wish him all the best. "Fair winds and following seas" kind of thing.

He said he isn't trying to avoid paying but there isn't time to get a permit. He would have had to call by Monday afternoon or show up after the Visitor Center opens, which guarantees a late start. Is he day hiking?

I'll bet there are plenty of spots in the quota. It's just that the Whitney permit system doesn't allow for making a last minute decision and showing up late, even when there is space to go. The system says "Tough luck".

I don't always care for the way the permit system is adminstered. There are some unnecessary hoops to jump through. So even though I think he shouldn't cheat the rules I have a certain degree of sympathy for this guy.

This is a tough one for sure. With a permit, they know you are up there, right?

I think goforgold’s question was very reasonable. He was planning to leave early in the morning, like everyone else, before the ranger station opened, and was going to arrive the night before, after the ranger satiation closed. No time to get a permit.

He obviously wanted information which is the purpose of this board.

It is bizarre and rude for some of you to respond with preaching and cynicism.

You can call during business hours the day before and they will leave the permit in the drop box if you pay the $15. reservation fee. I do not think there is any great difficulty in obtaining a permit before a hike.

his doesn't stink,
so he doesn't need a wagbag either.

Hey tomcat, the inyo website says you have to call two days ahead of time. Is it true that you can actually reserve the day before?

Unless the rules changes changed this year, you can call the day before and claim any unreserved or unused permits; but you have to pay the $15. reservation fee to have it left for after hours drop box - in the packet they also leave wag bags. The only way to avoid the $15. fee is to show up in person to claim unreserved permits - and then certain time factors come into play.