wilderness permit application date

[cornestache]

Hi,
My name is David, i'm a canadian living on the east coast.
I've been applying for a wilderness permit for the passed few days and can't seem to get the application date correctly...

i followed the chart referring to the first day of application by fax, called at the office and my application is somehow never on the right date.

Let's say if i was sending my fax tomorrow (march 24th) what would be the correct date of application september 9th?

ideally i'd like to hike for 7-8 days in the first half of september, i'm now considering simply showing up at the big oak entrance to get a wilderness permit.

thanks a lot!

[SauceCastillo]

If you were trying to enter on Sept 9, then yes, the first day to fax is on March 24. You can still fax up until 7:30 AM on March 25th to be included in the Sep 9 lottery. What trailhead(s) are you shooting for? What does the response email say exactly? I have never run into this problem.

[cornestache]

thanks for the answer!
it's weird cause i applied for september 8th to the 16th this morning at 8am today (eastern time) and i was denied.

here's the message i got:
"Thank you for your reservation request. We only accept reservations 24 weeks in advance of the date of entry. We are currently taking reservations for Wednesday, September 07, 2016 and any date prior. Tomorrow we will be taking reservations for Thursday, September 08, 2016 and so on. To see a table listing the first day to make reservation for each day of the season please visit: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/w ... tdates.htm

Your request will not be saved. Please reapply on the correct date."

my itinerary would start at Rafertty Creek/vogelsang - triple peak fork - Red peak - illilouette creek - Clouds Rest - JMT - back to tuolumne meadows

[cornestache]

could the problem be related to the fact that i'm sending the fax at 8am eastern time and then falling into the wrong lottery day?

[balzaccom]

Yes, that could be it!

[cornestache]

Thanks so much!
I've been waiting for a while to finally be able to come back to california, i missed yosemite the first time and now really what to hike a full week in that area.

I'll reapply tomorrow around 11ish.

And if i wanted to just show up at the big oak entrance or the tuolumne office to try to get a permit on septembre the 5th, what are the odds of being able to get that permit?
Is feasable or there's still a lot of tourist around that time of year

[balzaccom]

September 5th? California schools start in August, so there won't be nearly so many people in the park.

Of course, September 5th is also Labor Day---the end of a big three day weekend. But most people will be going home then, not starting out. I would think you should be able to get a permit without much trouble. And unless you are going with a large group or for a VERY popular trailhead, it won't be an issue at all.

[cornestache]

ok great sounds like it might even be better to start on september 6th then.
we should only be 2 or 3 so i doubt that would be a problem.

i was thinking of doing the half dome, but the crowded trails isn't really what we're looking for.
still applying for the permit in case we change our minds once we get there.

so today i'll be applying for september 9th around 11ish eastern time, i should fall on the right day this time
thanks for the input!

[balzaccom]

If you want to avoid crowds, avoid Half Dome. Cloud's Rest is a better hike, with a much better view, and from the top you'll be looking down on all those people on Half Dome.

[cornestache]

Been browsing around the itinerary posts and here's the loop that seemed the most interesting for me:
Start at Rafertty Creek/vogelsang - triple peak fork - Red peak - illilouette creek - (half dome maybe) - Clouds Rest - JMT - back to tuolumne meadows

[balzaccom]

That's a nice hike. If you can't get the Rafferty Creek permit, you could also access that same itinerary, more or less, from the less popular Mono Meadows trailhead on the Glacier Point Road.

[cornestache]

great that's actually my third choice
starting at mono meadows and finishing at Pohono trail in case i can't start from either rafferty creek or cathedral lakes

got the wrong date again today... can't seem to figure this out.
i was told i should've applied for september 8th
i'll have my friend apply tonight for september 8th

well considering the fact that it might be easier to get a permit at the park i will simply show up there on september 6th hoping to get a permit.

[SauceCastillo]

I just submitted a fax on Wednesday after work (about 5:45 pm pacific time) and got my rejection email at noon on Thursday. This is all speculation, but I think the key for submitting your fax the day before is to send it AFTER business hours (after 5 pm pacific time). Otherwise it will be processed that same day and not saved for the next day's lottery. I seem to remember something about this on the park service website a few years ago but I don't see it there anymore.

[Phil]

well considering the fact that it might be easier to get a permit at the park i will simply show up there on september 6th hoping to get a permit.

That's not a bad plan. If you have some flexibility, the 7th might be even better. I don't blame people for wanting something in place before they go, but too many seem to forget that walk-ups comprise 40% of the quota, not to mention the cancellations and no-shows.

[cornestache]

Thanks for all the tips!
Indeed 40% of all the permit is quite a lot.

Yes we're not in a rush and like you said it's probably better now to simply skip the whole application process since there won't be as many people in the trails at that time of the year.
Plus i don't want to get there too late in the season too in case some of the trails are closed.
What's the average temperature at higher elevation around that time of year?