Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Permit regulations concerning Whitney resupply

Hello all,

I tried to look through the "feature topics" pages but didn't find an answer to my question. Essentially, is it possible to get a permit from Sequoia NP for the High Sierra Trail, with Happy Isles in Yosemite as my exit trailhead, and resupply at the Whitney Portal store? Some people on the John Muir Trail Yahoo group suggested that I'd need a separate permit to re-enter the wilderness after resupplying. On the Inyo NF website they say "If you exit the wilderness for more than 24 hours or re-enter at a different location, a new permit is required for the new entry location." (http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/inyo/passes-permits/recreation) That made me think this resupply would be ok.

Do you have any input?

Kyle

The question here is what you do about a Whitney Zone permit when resupplying at WP.

This is a tricky one, but I'm sure its come up before. Maybe someone knows for sure already and will chime in here (Steve). But here's one approach you might consider:

Call the Inyo permit office(s) about it. They aren't too busy this time of year. You might get a variety of answers, so keep trying. If you get the answer you're looking for, then right down the person's name and date of the conversation and note that on your permit. It's going to be a trail call if you get questioned, so be ready and be honest. If you don't get this confirmed, you would need a permit for that exact day. Could be difficult planning.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Welcome, Kyle.

That question does not come up very often, but what you read on the Inyo N.F. link is correct. As long as you are off the trail less than 24 hours (and you re-enter via the same trail), your original permit continues to be all you need.

I have heard this from the Inyo staff as well, so it is good to see it posted on their web site.

Saltydog is referring to the PCT hikers' Whitney Zone resupply fee. If those hikers plan on hiking down the Main Mt Whitney Trail for a resupply, then they are asked to pay an additional $15 fee. But on the same website link above, you can read that this only applies to PCT hikers, and not hikers coming in from other areas. The curious part is that many PCT hikers get that rule confused and think they need to pay the fee to hike to the summit of Mt Whitney. THAT is not the case, since the $15 Whitney Zone fee only applies to the part of the trail that descends the east side from Trail Crest.

I am not sure, but you might be able to send a resupply package directly to the Whitney Portal Store, so you wouldn't need to hitchhike down to Lone Pine. You can call Doug (at the Whitney Portal Hostel 760-876-0030 during winter months) and ask if that still works. I believe UPS will actually deliver up to the WP Store.

Steve is almost always right on stuff like this, so I would not be surprised if his answer is also correct here. But I would point out that the general rule posted on the site does not refer to Whitney specifically.

If all you have is a Crescent Meadow permit with a Whitney exit, what do you have to show the ranger on your way back up the Whitney Trail?

If you have the CM permit with a Yos exit, what do you have to show the ranger on the way down or up? The [u][/u]reason I refer to the PCTA permit is because the premise of that extra charge is that you need some kind of specific permit to enter the Whitney Zone.

I don't think the general resup/re-entry rule covers Whitney. I think Inyo needs to answer the Whitney resup question more directly and specifically.

If Kyle wants wants more info, he should call the Wilderness Permit Office at 760-873-2483.

They are the ones who create the Inyo NF web pages, so could be able to clarify things to his satisfaction.

(Kyle, if you call, please report here what you find out.) Thanks.