Wow Steve C and saltydog, I did not realize it was still open - we had already ruled out a major trip this year for other reasons but our circumstances have since changed. So maybe we will see if we can make it work and apply by tomorrow night - thanks a lot for the heads up!
We are kind of set on doing the whole JMT at the same time, so I will have to look more into the logistics of that tomorrow too - wow, I'm really glad I joined this forum and made my weird request, and got help from all you nice people, thank you

Jennifer