[pct-l] Forest Service intelligence test (failure)

[David Plotnikoff]

Hello from a longtime list lurker.

For my final section this year, I'll be doing Walker Pass through 
Tuolumne Meadows. Over the years I've found a wide, wide range of 
competence among the front-line Forest Service staffers who interface 
with the public at front counters. From absolute aces with deep 
institutional knowledge of their ranger district and long memories to 
absolute clueless folks who probably have a hard time tying their own 
shoes.

Consider today's phone calls to the Kernville and Lake Isabella 
ranger district offices of the Sequoia National Forest.

"Hi, I'm calling to follow up on a wilderness permit application I 
mailed a month ago. I never got anything back. I'm starting at Walker 
Pass and heading through on the PCT to Tuolumne Meadows, in Yosemite."

"You don't need a wilderness permit for that. Only for the Golden 
Trout Wilderness. That's all we write. All the other wilderness areas 
don't need a permit."

"You're sure about that? But I'm going through northbound all the way 
through Kings Canyon NP and Yosemite NP and the regulations say the 
wilderness permit is issued by the jurisdiction where the trip 
initiates."

long pause.

"You don't need a permit for anything other than Golden Trout. Just 
Golden Trout. I don't to anything other than that."

"Thanks. Thanks very much. That's what I needed to know."

Got essentially the same answer at both offices.

So be forewarned: If you're looking for a section hike wilderness 
permit, you may need to draw these folks a picture.

I would have just gone through Inyo NF to be written from Cottonwood 
through to Tuolumne, but they demand that you show up in person. They 
won't mail permits. And Lone Pine is a bit off my beaten path.

These folks have got me stumped. I hope the PCTA liaison for Sequoia 
knows this is the level of knowledge that the people actually charged 
with issuing wilderness permits have. I would have given them the 
benefit of the doubt if it was just one impaired desk jockey, but I 
got the same response at both offices. Which leads me to wonder if 
it's institutional, rather than individual.

DP