Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board JMT Permit help, please

Howdy All,

I've been trying to get a JMT permit for myself (1 person) leaving from Happy Isles for the last week without success.
Basically, one can only apply 168 days in advance and faxed permits have priority over mail and phone.

I am self-employed so can start mid-week. I've been faxing in the permit at 5 PM (goes into the next day's lottery) and been skunked. Spoke to someone in the permit office yesterday morning to determine whether I was applying correctly. Basically, he was not helpful at all, just said everyone wants to do the JMT from Happy Isles so tough luck.

Is there a secret handshake or something?

Miles of smiles and thanks,
Ellen

Hi Ellen,

I have been given outstanding service when making reservations for Yosemite Wilderness permits. I believe they are currently managed by the Yosemite Conservancy. I apply by FAX after 5 pm, as you did, and typically get and email response within 24 hours. However, the demand for permits out of Happy Isles is extreme.

I am doing the JMT this summer (North to South). I will dayhike from Happy Isles to TM (with no pack) and then pick up my wilderness permit at TM. Then at TM I start my overnight trip. So the permit I obtained (without problems) is for entering the JMT at Lyell Canyon heading toward Donohue Pass.

This year the stats posted by the Yosemite Conservancy indicate far less demand for permits for JMT south starting out of Lyell Canyon, as opposed to Happy Isles.


If you are persistent, I bet you get your permit. Then you can focus on the preparation for a great adventure.

Jim

Ellen & Jim,

Last year I did as Jim F suggested, and when doing the JMT North to South day-hiked from Happy Isles to Tuolumne Meadows, then getting a permit starting from Lyell Canyon. I did this solo and received a permit for the first date selected after the 5 PM fax. This was an excellent way to start the trip, and I highly recommend it if you are comfortable going 20 miles, mostly uphill (but no pack!).

If you have bad luck getting a permit from Lyell Canyon, it is much easier to get a permit to May Lake (although hiking there would be a few miles out of the way), then heading to the JMT. I also noted last year that there were fewer "sellouts" of the Lyell Canyon wilderness permits starting about August 10, so would expect about the same this year.

Matt

Ellen:

I hiked the JMT in 2008, North to South, and was also unable to get an entry permit out of Happy Isles.

Our solution: We got a permit leaving from the Mono Meadows trailhead (off Glacier Point Rd). If you take use this trailhead, you join the JMT in less than 10 miles in Little Yosemite Valley.

I really can't condone cheating the permit system.

I too was unsuccessful in obtaining a JMT permit from Happy Isles. But I easily landed a thruhike permit for the Snow Creek Trail which rises out of the valley across from Half Dome. It's a steep sucker for the first few miles but it will reward you with great views of the valley. It joins the JMT near Toulumne Meadows. I saw exactly two people between the valley and Tuolumne and that was in July.

Howdy Gentlepeople,

Thanks for the excellent suggestions. I hiked the middle portion of the JMT in 2009 and want to do the entire trail this year. I'm celebrating the 3 year anniversary of surviving a hiking misadventure on San Jacinto.

I like Jim and Matt's suggestion to day hike to Tuolumne Meadows. If I don't get a permit out of Happy Isles soon, I'll try Lyell Canyon. Hiking 20 miles and gaining a lot of elevation without a backpack also sounds very appealing.

Two questions:
1) Where do you leave your pack in TM?
2) How easy is it to get a dayhike permit out of Happy Isles?

Miles of smiles and thanks,
Ellen

no dayhike permit needed out of HI(unless going to Half Dome)

when I did this, I had previously mailed my stuff c/o general delivery at post office/TM general store. just be there before it closes at 4, or is it 5pm?

or.... carry your (hopefully) lightweight pack with raingear and lunch and when you get to TM get the rest of stuff, tent, sleep bag, food, bear can as per plan above.

still need to pick up your backpacking permit for TM & beyond at the permit office either in Yos Valley, or in TM at the TM ranger station, not at general store.

Don't know when you are planning to start your trip but be aware that it appears that Sierra snowpack is running above normal and that means a few of the passes will still have snow into July provided the melt is normal. Donohue Pass has been known to carry snowpack late into July.

Watch the snowpack information available here California Department of Water Resources and check with the rangers in TM regularly.

Unless something has changed. Just show up early and get a permit for the same day. A percentage of permits is for walk in service. I have never had a problem doing this in Yosemite. I have never reserved a permit. When they issue your permit there it is good for the entire legnth of the JMT if thats what you want.

something has indeed changed - they moved the time you can get the walk in permits to 11am:

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildpermits.htm



that said - I bet you still have to be there very early, plus, same day permits will probably only be given for LYV, as after 11am most hikers will have a hard time to make it past the Half Dome turnoff where the next legal camping begins.

Als, I doubt much will change with when you will need to be in line to get your JMT walkin permit - it's just not going to get handled until 11am. I'm sure this was changed because they will have their hands full with the daily Half Dome permits.

Ellen,

When I did the hike from Happy Isles to Tuolumne Meadows, I was fortunate enough to have others with me that brought my full backpack up to Tuolumne Meadows via the road. I don't know any good way to do this if you are completely on your own. However, if there are others you know that like the outdoors, but not necessarily backpacking, you can stay with them in the valley the night before your hike, and then stay with them in the Tuolumne area before starting on the backpacking portion of the trip. If you are really lucky like I was, they can later pick you up at Whitney Portal and you can treat them to a meal at the store.
Note that for permits, the Lyell Canyon permit office is not in the valley, so the valley-specific permit rules don't apply and you may not need to wait around until 11:00 am.
Best of luck to you and enjoy the trip, however you do it.

Matt

Tuolumne Meadows ranger station opens at 8 am and I am sure you can get available same day permits or next day permits for all trailheads up there at that time.

The only thing they won't do is get you a next day Happy Isles permit at that time. Thing is, in recent years when that was still a first thing in the morning affair, they didn't bother to even try to call the valley to see if any next day Happy Isles permits were available. They flat out kept telling me "nope" before they even called (and we were there half an hour before the valley wilderness center even opened...)

Howdy Matt,

Once again, great advice. More questions as I was skunked again last evening. I have very specific questions below as perhaps I haven't been filling out the permit request correctly.

1) So if I can persuade someone to take my backpack to TM, I can dayhike from HI to TM. The following day, I'll need a Lyell Canyon permit going from TM on, correct?

2)I'll fax in a request tonight which will go into the lottery tomorrow (Feb 11) for a Jul 29 start date at HI.

The permit has two HI options -- HI to Sunrise/Merced Lake Pass Through and HI to Little Yosemite Valley (LYV). For my first night camp, I've been listing Lower Cathedral Lake. Has this been creating problems with getting a permit?

If I put down HI to LYV, do I have to camp in LYV the first night or can I go further?

Thanks again and really appreciate your help. I really want to do this hike to celebrate being alive and honor those who helped rescue me (the San Jacinto board, Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, and my family). Story below:

http://www.mtsanjacinto.info/viewtopic.php?t=663

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

Fish, perhaps I'm misreading, but what I perceive your posted quote says is that the unreserved permits are handed out at 11am for hikes starting the next day, but that unreserved permits for the same day are available as soon as the center opens.

Ken,
You are correct. The reason for the 11AM time for picking up a next day permit is to allow the reserved permit holders and same day permit seekers to get their permits without having to wait for people that may be in line for a next day permit. Plus reserved permits are forfeited by that time and made available for same day permit seekers.

No permits are required for day hikes, so Ellen, if you do the route suggested your only permit issue will be in the Tuolumne area. This is one of the benefits of doing the initial day hike.
However, if you hike up Half Dome, a separate Half Dome permit is needed, but making it from the valley to Half Dome and then to Tuolumne Meadows in one day would be big undertaking.
I took a day to get to Tuolumne Meadows, just past Cathedral Lakes, spent a more leisurely day in the Meadows going from one end to the other (there is a good shuttle system), and then on the third day started the full-pack hike out of Lyell Canyon.

yeah, but when are same day unreserved permits available? The only time same day permits will be available is also after 11 am, after same day no show permits become available. The day before usually takes care of all unreserved permits for any of the busy summer days.

Same day unreserved permits are available as soon as the permit office opens. But...If you are at say the Big Oat Flat permit office and want a same day permit for a trailhead near Tuolumne Meadows you may find you may have to wait until the people in line at the TM office have all been served.

Lines will form well before the offices open so plan on getting in line an hour or so before opening, at least during July and August.

what I'm saying is that at Happy Isles, in summer, a same day permit before 11am is like a lottery win, because all of those available walk-ins are usually grabbed on the day before. And there's really no way you'll get one of the next day happy Isles permits from another ranger station (I've tried for 3 years, never got one, they don't even bother to call the valley - just flat out tell you there's no chance)

so now, at 11am the next day's set of walk-in permits will be gone, leaving only reserved permits that don't get picked up for same day entry. To get a shot at these permits after 11am, I bet you still are best off to arrive very early at the permit office in the valley. This is crazier than the Whitney permit thing, because there's a lot less available (24 each day I think)

Yeah, I should have inserted a "if any are left" in there. The best bet is to be getting a walk-in the day before. It seems to me if one is doing the whole JMT that a day spent getting a permit is well worth it especially if starting at the official trailhead.

As mentioned earlier, getting a permit for one of the many ways to hook up with the JMT makes getting a permit more likely.