Paul and others, I talked with both Hunter and Cindy at Inyo N.F. regarding the permit system this year.
The Trail Crest Exit permit is an add-on to a normal permit, and they have attached the same date to it as the date of entry. (In years before, you needed to grab a specific exit date, which made getting one even more complex.) Now, all you need is the Exit Permit addition on your permit, and there is no official exit date assigned.
They are working on a "Print Your Permit" button that should be working this year, so you won't need to phone in and email to get a printed permit. That should significantly reduce the phone load, so people with real questions (and Trail Pass requests) will be able to get through easier. People will be able to print their own permit up to a week before the hike start date.
They are still doing the 60/40 percent system on all but the lottery permits -- 60% reservable 6 months in advance, and 40% held back. But not for walk-ins... Those go online at 7 AM 14 days before date of entry, so fast fingers will be first-come-first-served.
Cancellations go back into the on-line system, I believe they are released at a random time over the next 24 hours.
No-shows... are more difficult to identify with everything being online. They are the people who don't sign-in or call in to pick up their permit before the permit deadline. Deadlines for Whitney Zone day-use is noon the day before. For overnight hikes, it is 11 AM, the day of entry. But now with the ability to print your own a week in advance, some people will print a permit, and then not actually hike--these no-shows are impossible to identify. For Day Use permits no-shows, I'm not sure what time window they will show up. And overnight no-shows... no idea how that would work. I need to ask more about that later. | 
