Some of this posting has gotten downright toxic. I'm with you, Bob.
We are in the middle of a global pandemic. Local land managers are all trying to not stick out their necks. The Inyo National forest is suffering from decades of underfunding and understaffing. Local politicians make decisions for the health and safety of their local constituents. It sucks, but really, what's with the name-calling and irateness? Find some love and grace.
A lot of the frustration comes from not just a lack of communication, but also their inability or unwillingness to go along with the loosening state and county restrictions. If it were April or even early June, I'd agree the right decision would be to keep everything closed, but that is not the right approach now given the current circumstances.
Tomorrow, I can go to a bar, tattoo parlor, nail salon, or casino in LA County, which is one of the most densely populated and hardest hit counties in the state. In Lone Pine, I can eat in a dine-in restaurant, stay in a hotel or campground, and try the risky Mountaineers route up Whitney (as a side note, last June's fatality was from someone descending the MR, not the Main Trail).
So, why can't anyone legally go up Whitney via the Main Trail on June 21 if they already had a permit for that date? If packing 160 people in an area the size of a tennis court is tolerated as long as it's a peaceful protest, why can't that same number of people be spread out over a non-technical 11-mile trail that currently has minimal amounts of snow on it?
