Early on in the permit discussions, I had suggested that they bracket the "arrival" times at the cables, but a good buddy brought up the dilemma:
A large amount of the hikers (I am not going to make up any numbers here; I do not know the exact ratio) are day hikers, and there really is not that large of a window to arrive at the cables when everyone has to start at daybreak just to finish the hike in daylight.
Perhaps those receiving permits as part of an overnight package could be required to make a morning entry on the cables?
I am not sure what the answer is, but I am sure that after the disasterous 2009 season, there was a lot of "we gotta do something now" and reaching for the hammer was the first line of defense.
