I don't see how Inyo has lost any significant revenue, or how anything at all has been lost. Few, if anyone, seem to have ever used it. As for Occam's Razor, it requires not only a simpler explanation, but a simpler explanation that accounts for all of the known facts. Such as: let's eliminate the Whitney option: no one loses, because no one is using it, and we gain PR points.
The amount of revenue lost is unknown, but a lot of people were paying $15 per hiker to Inyo for access to the Whitney Zone. I posted the maximum if all 1,400 PCT hikers paid ~ $20,000, but that's not correct because the fee was optional, not required. britonwhit(ney) posted an estimate of 350 hikers paid the fee ~ $5,000.
1. Some amount of annual revenue to Inyo has been lost, I don't care to do the research, but I suspect its a significant amount (probably 1,000's of dollars per year) and it added up over the years.
2. Access has been lost for PCT hikers to legally exit from Trail Crest. They are no longer allowed to even EXIT anymore. Everyone else starting their hike from outside Inyo IS allowed to EXIT.
So with these two negative impacts, I disagree that "no one loses."
Regarding Occam's Razor, the simplest explanation for a policy change involving public agencies is that something happened to create a reaction. Public agencies are by nature reactionary, not proactive. We all agree this new policy will not have a significant benefit for the Whitney Zone. Therefore, its highly UNlikely that the PCTA suddenly decided one day to make a policy change that does almost nothing beneficial, but it negatively impacts hikers and Inyo revenue. And there's no way they would do this without coordinating with Inyo NF who was receiving the permit fees and policing the trail.
So the simplest explanation to me is that the existing system was being abused somehow, and that drew attention, which caused a reaction (the policy change). That a small percentage of people would ruin things for everyone else, well that too is the simplest explanation for our entire system of laws and rules.
