[pct-l] Permits 2017

[Brick Robbins]

A thru hiker permit is not required to thru hike the PCT.

I wrote about his last season
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2016-March/078789.html

The whole "permit quota" was devised to take advantage of the
"misunderstanding" that a thru hiker permit is required,  in order to
save the PCT from the "Wild Effect." There is no legal basis for it,
nor does there need to be, because there is no legal requirement to
actually have the permit.

> Cody B <moonbeams13 at gmail.com> wrote:
> It is possible to hike the PCT legally without a long-distance permit
> published by the PCTA, but that does require seeking out each permit
> individually and doing the research on your own.

There really aren't that many areas, except for the Sierra, that
require permits. Of those there are only a few that have quotas.

It is not even required to get "each permit" on your own, as a permit
issued by one agency is good for traveling through land managed by
other agencies to the end of your trip. For example, a NPS permit for
hiking the John Muir Trail covers the USFS lands. One can get a
wilderness permit from the USFS starting at Kennedy Meadows (south)
that is good to the OR/CA border. Or one can even get a "section hiker
permit" from the PCTA from KM(s) to Canada, and miss the phony "permit
quota" at Mexico

You must have permits for the areas that require them. They are not
difficult to get and generally are free, and remember, you only need
one permit from your point of entry to your destination.

>The first several hundred miles are
> particularly vulnerable as there are very limited water resources and many
> of them cannot support hundreds of hikers draining them in addition to
> supplying the necessary water for the native plants and animals.

I call bullshit on this. There are only two areas that require permits in SoCal

1)Cleveland/Descanso disctrict requires permit for dispersed camping,
which they give to anyone who asks. Call 619-445-6235 to get one

2)Mt San Jacinto, the wilderness areas there require permits for
overnight or day use. The current fire re-route makes most of this
area moot, since you are on roads. Google can give you more
information.

There is NO PERMIT requirement to protect "limited water resources" in
the SoCal section. NONE.

I have no doubt that the thru hiker permit quota was created with good
intentions, but it has no legal basis, and really is nothing but a con
job.

Yes we need to protect the PCT, but overall, the impact of thru hikers
is one of the smaller problems - except for town infrastructure.

And no I don't "hate the PCT" as some people will write. I just want
to see public resources managed in a legal and transparent way.

HYOY, YMMV