Pretty soon you will get your permit reservation package...don't sweat it, it's coming.
As you prepare for your date with the Smithsonian Hut, you are going be making a lot of mistakes. It really comes with never having hiked at these elevations, this distance or gain.
After my first trip in 1997, I came to the conclusion I did not work anywhere near hard enough getting ready and the Sierra should have been a part of my training program with a side trip to Whitney Portal to get the lay of the land...I've since revised that to the "easy" 14,246' White Mountain.
Many of you will end up with permits when winter conditions still exist but without the requisite skills or equipment. I've always recommended to those people...come and enjoy yourself, you will have a good time here and gain a lot of experience but remember never hike through trouble. It's a lot harder to descend through ice and snow than it is to climb through it. I have literally seen someone on hands and knees down hiking a trail after they went a switchback too far.
