I think Inyo N.F. has finally stopped hinting that people coming up from the west side need to have that designation.
I talked to Lone Pine station yesterday and specifically asked if I needed a Whitney Zone permit to "visit" Whitney if approaching from the west and returning to the west. They said yes I do.
Maybe I should call back today and ask a different person.
If you called the Interagency Visitor Center in Lone Pine, that would explain it. People there don't have the last word. Call the Wilderness Permit office in Bishop. Cindy there is the authority.
...reading the quote below again, I can see that they still prefer that you select the VMW option -- for the waste management issues.
Here is the Jan 19, 2017, post from Inga Aksamit in the JMT facebook group:
Inyo Permit: Overnight vs Overnight Visiting Whitney. There have been a number of threads discussing the type of permit you need if approaching from the west (e.g. Crabtree/Guitar Lake) and returning to the trail (e.g. to exit at Horseshoe Meadows or Kearsarge Pass). Jennifer Swann was given info from an Inyo NF representative that didn't sound right so she kept pursuing it, finally getting a call back from a ranger who provided a lengthy explanation. I'm not sure it's that satisfying but Jennifer and I thought this should be shared. Bottom line, either type of permit is OK.
"Had a great conversation with Cindy Gervasoni at Inyo NF today. She explained everything beautifully. She said that there are actually two different Whitney zones. There is a Whitney Waste Management Zone and a Whitney Permit Management Zone. The Whitney Permit Management Zone does not include the summit when accessed from the west. The Whitney Waste Management Zone includes the summit and all of the mountain, plus adjacent areas (including Guitar Lake, but not Crabtree). So, if you summit from the West, you could legitimately argue that you are not in the Whitney Permit Management Zone...but you are in the the Whitney Waste Management Zone. The whole purpose of the extra $10 is waste management, therefore, the ethical thing to do would be to select Overnight Visiting Whitney for your permit, since you are indeed visiting the Whitney Waste Management Zone. Also, (as you and I already know) they provide the waste disposal kits and suggest you carry one (regardless of how you get to the top), since you may need to use it between Guitar Lake and the summit. She also made it clear that you do not have to select Overnight Visiting Whitney, as they cannot, by law, force you to pack out your waste. She compared the concept to LNT practices. Not enforceable, but hopefully practiced. She also said that by selecting Overnight Visiting Whitney, it is a method of education and outreach. When a person picks up an Overnight Visiting Whitney permit, they are issued a different set of rules and recommendations regarding waste management procedures in the Whitney Zone. You do not receive this if you do not select Visiting Whitney, as a different set of rules/recommendations apply. So, if an uninformed JMT hiker does not select Visiting Whitney, and summits Whitney, they may be unaware of the waste management expectations/recommendations should they need to "go" between Guitar Lake and the Summit. Cindy was clear that ultimately, either permit option is acceptable, however, they encourage Overnight Visiting Whitney, as it allows them to continue to educate, manage, and enhance the waste management program. So, this simply means that it is up to each of us as an individual to select the option that feels right to us."
The above quote in the JMT group was followed by a number of posts and discussion. Unfortunately, you have to be a FB member, and then request acceptance to the JMT (closed) group to be able to read what is written there.
