Walk-in wilderness permits

[bbmq]

I haven't tried the 'new' walk-in wilderness permit procedure yet and I might have a need to try it at some point in late summer. It used to be that with the office opening at 7:30 AM I would show up at about 6:00 AM and there was no problem. But now with permits not being issued until 11:00 AM, what time do you have to show up to be fairly assured to get what you want? It seems that starting that late would give a lot more people a chance to get in line that otherwise wouldn't be willing to get up that early and I don't want to have to stand in line for 2 or 3 hours. What time should I get there?

[balzaccom]

Two thoughts:

1. Many of the people who reserve permits don't show up to collect them. So you can add those permits into the mix.

2. While you may not get exactly the permit you want, I have never left the Wilderness Office without a permit for a reasonable alternative---and that includes once having a reserved permit for the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, only it was closed because of a fire.

If you are a little flexible about your trip, they will do what they can to help you out.

And remember that until 10 am, you'll have the reserved permit people going in and out of the office. If you get there at 9:45 and are a little flexible, I think you'll be OK. Of course that applies to a weekday. Showing up on Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend won't work very well.

[jms703]

I wasn't aware of the new procedures. Is there a URL for this?

[bbmq]

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildpermits.htm

[balzaccom]

If you can get there in time, you can also get s walkin permit the day before. This won't help with trailhead that are full (quota) . But it will help you get a much earlier start the next day if there IS room on the quota.