We (party of 3) want to apply for a 2-night permit on Whitney Trail. ie, exit date 2 days after entry date.
Will this reduce our chances of being selected in the lottery? Or do you "win" first, then get placed into one of your 15 requested trip dates?
Related to this: it looks as though, from reading the Inyo NF website, that camping at Lone Pine Lake, if you do that, counts as one of your overnight nights on your Whitney Trail application. Is that correct?
Thanks for any info on this!
SueB, sorry nobody answered this question. With most trail permits, and these are in that category, the length of your trip has no effect on your chances of a "win". Entry date is the only criteria used in the lottery. Being on the trail additional days does not affect anyone else's chances, either. For the 60 overnight hikers accepted for each date, it is expected that they will be on the trail two to four days. There is no control over the number of days people stay, and in fact, staying longer or exiting earlier than your original plan is perfectly ok.
The only exception is the Trail Crest Exit permit, which is required for people starting on
other Inyo N.F. trails, and wanting to exit via the Main Mt. Whitney Trail. In their situation, the length of their trip, and therefore their exit date, affects what Exit Permit date they get. But this situation and these trips are NOT part of the Whitney Lottery.
thanks for the info, Steve. Deleting multiple applications is new, isn't it?
Hi Brent. It was new last year, I think.
I know Inyo NF asks groups to submit just one application per group, but I cannot imagine how they can enforce it. For example....
Carry On: I think what you wrote is pretty much the case. I think they will delete all but one duplicate, but I'm not sure.
In the past, the same person could submit multiple entries -- same login, same credit card, same group leader, etc etc. Those are definitely deleted now. Just be aware, with many groups and many trips planned months in advance like this, people drop out of a group at the last minute. If your "group leader" who won the permit drops out, nobody else can walk in and pick up his permit. ...and permits that are cancelled online are made available on the 'net "at a random time in the next 24 hours".
Lottery Progress Report: As of Feb 8Inyo N.F. has posted a pdf page showing stats as February 8, link is on their
Mount Whitney Lottery page. Applications are more than 1000 ahead of the first week last year.
Click here to see
the report.
