Hello all, I've been looking at the boards here and at WPS and have enjoyed finding this wealth of information. However, I have two questions I haven't been able to find the exact answer to (maybe I missed them), maybe some of you can help.

1. Assuming I get the date I want, Can I pick up my permit from the FS office on the day of entry or do I have to pick it up a day or so in advance of my intended entry date? Is there a way to let the FS know that I want to pick it up day of entry?

2. If, say, my entry date is for a Monday and I do have to pick up my permit on a Sunday, can I hike up to and camp at a point before the Whitney Zone begins, perhaps Lone Pine Lake, if I get a seperate permit for the John Muir Wilderness?

Thanks for your answers and sorry if these topics have been covered elsewhere.

Hi RocksOff,

Picking up on the day of entry pretty much means you are doing an overnight hike right? Overnight permits can be picked up on the day of entry up to 10 AM. If you don't show up by then, they give it away. ...EXCEPT if you call in and ask them to hold it because you are coming in later to pick it up. I believe this information would be included in the printed material sent to you when you get a reservation. However, this being the first year permits are available online, you might be emailed the information.

As for hiking in a short distance and camping, that requires an overnight permit, and the Whitney Zone rules and quotas apply, even if you stop and camp at Lone Pine Lake. So that would be the same as any Mt Whitney overnight permit.

You don't need to pick up the overnight permit the day before. That is the rule only for Day Hike permits. However, if you ARE there a day early, and if the quota for THAT day is not full (due to no-shows and cancellations), then they can change your permit so you could start that afternoon or evening if you want.

(I am not sure the following....) Getting there and picking up your permit at that 10 AM time the day before might be ideal for moving up your start date by one day, since there are always no-shows, and the walk-in people without permits aren't able to even ask for the no-shows until 11 AM. Like I said, though, they might not let you do this, and instead tell you to get into the 11 AM drawing and compete with the other walk-in people.

Thanks for the reply Steve. Yes, I will be doing an overnight hike. I think getting to Lone Pine on day of entry by 10am would be tough, I have 7 hour drive. I like that I can give them a call and have them hold the permit. I just didn't want to get into the hassle of trying to reserve a campsite for the night that I drive down, I'd much rather drive down and hike in a few miles and just take it easy since I'm coming from sea level.Thanks again.

Camping at Lone Pine Lake is fantastic idea. Beautiful location. Great acclimatization. Unless they change this from prior practice, an overnight permit is actually good for 14 days, so just specify as the entry day the day that you want to camp at Lone Pine Lake (when you pick up your permit, you can modify, as necessary, your anticipated exit date, or least that is how it worked in the past).

You can always utilize the walk in backpackers camp at the Portal rather than reserve a campsite the night before you begin your hike. Minimal hassle, but the benefit of sleeping at 8K' before beginning your trek up the mountain.