Originally Posted By: bruce
I think they have a different quota system for Rae Lakes, as it's only about 9 miles in where the Rae Lakes loop goes left while you go right.
I've gotten a walk-in on Labor Day weekend so it shouldn't be difficult to reserve a permit on a less popular weekend.

I'm nearly positive there's no distinction. The only thing that matters is the trailhead. Anyone doing Rae Lakes has two options since they can go clockwise or counterclockwise. Counterclockwise is the Bubb's Creek permit, which is the one you're referring to.

https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/upload/NoYear-Wilderness-Trip-Planner-Final-3.pdf

I'm not saying it's impossible, but again there are only 5 walkups per day. You can see on their availability page that Bubb's Creek has almost no reservation slots open between July and mid-September: https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/reservation-availability.htm