Sorry, but I have to oppose this petition.

As it stands now, I can make all my reservations online. If I need a last-minute permit, I may or may not score one online. If I can’t get the trailhead I want, I can get something else, do a dayhike, or stay home. The important point is that my wife and my partners and I all know what I’m going to do, in advance, before I leave the house.

With the old walk-up system, I had to organize all my stuff, load it into the car, and drive a minimum of three hours to stand in line and hope I got the permit I wanted. If I got no permit, I was screwed. If I settled for a different permit, I had to contact my wife and climbing partners to let them know of the change of plans. That isn’t easy, since Lee Vining is the closest permit station to Reno, and my carrier has zero cell coverage there. Even if I got my first choice permit at 11:00 AM, I would have to waste the rest of the day doing nothing more than driving to the trailhead. I’m retired, but a working stiff would have to take an entire day off, just to pick up the permit at 11:00 AM.

As the petition says, “The enjoyment of our wilderness areas should not be made more difficult”. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what returning to in-person walk-up permits would do.