Re: [pct-l] permit rumor?

[Brick Robbins <brick@fastpack.com>]

As of last year, the USFS in OR/WA (known as "Region 6") did not recognize
permits written by USFS offices in California (known as "Region 5"). I
asked the Descanso USFS ranger station last year (near San Diego - closest
to the beginning of the PCT, so they write a lot of thru-hiker permits),
and they showed me the instructions they have in the Wilderness permit book
that only lets them write a permit to the Oregon border. 

You are only suppose to need ONE permit per trip issued from the trailhead
of entry. The NPS and the state parks recognize permits written by the
USFS, but one region of the USFS doesn't recognize permits written by
another - go figure!

To fix this, the PCTA  got authorization to write permits for its members
for hikes over 500 miles along the PCT. These permits are valid along the
WHOLE PCT, so the association can write better permits than the USFS can!
They even issue Mt Whitney stamps. Another good reason to support the PCTA!

Wilderness permits are a contentious issue in the Inyo NF area (the region
of the horse wars and all). I too heard rumors that one individual was
complaining about the PCTA issuing permits. They thought that issuing
permits should be the sole perogative of the Gov't. The good news is the
authorization for the PCTA to issue permits came from way up the chain of
command, so one low-level person in the USFS or NPS  would have little
influence.

There was also talk last year that some rangers in Inyo wanted to declare a
town-stop the end of a trek, and the continutation of the trek after the
town-stop as a "new" trip requireing a new permit. I never heard how (or
if) that one was resolved. I think that if I was challenged on this one,
I'd politely ask the Ranger to write me a ticket, then contitue on.

FWIW, The first place a northbounder  needs a permit  is Mt San Jacinto.
You will see a sign advising you of this as you pass through the Hwy 74
trailhead (Pines to Palm Highway - Guidebook B5.) You need one all the way
to Now Creek (Map B11) I don't think you need a permit again till you hit
section G.

Hike your own hike.

-Brick
San Diego, CA 
Where there is fresh snow on the PCT from Interstate-8 to the Borrego
Desert (maps A6-A10)


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