Salty, it doesn't seem that clear cut. The PCTA wrote, "Access into the Inyo National Forest Mount Whitney Zone and down the Mount Whitney Trail is no longer allowed to holders of the PCT Long-Distance Permit." But the PCTA doesn't have any authority to allow, or not allow, access to the Whitney Zone.
Seems like there must be more to this story. Why would the PCTA eliminate this option? Perhaps some people didn't want to pay the $15 and that screwed it up for everyone else, since they probably couldn't differentiate who paid the Whitney fee on the Long-Distance Permit vs who didn't pay. Maybe that's it.
