I am not trying to rid the world of guided trips. I just think that the amount of guided trips allowed on the north fork is part of the reason for only 10 permits allowed for overnights. Thanks Bob for the info on the behind the scene reasons.
I think the best thing to do would be to get rid of the separate north fork/ main trail over night permits and make it all the same system. 70 overnight permits for the entire mt. whitney zone. The actual north fork portion of the "mt. whitney zone" is just as big as the main trail portion, but it only gets 15% of the available overnight spots?
Another thing that would be good is making the reservations online and not so far in advance.It would be great if they could release the permits 3 or 4 months prior to the actual hike date rather than the entire season all at once in February.
The Half Dome system seems like a good way to go. Permits are available up to about four months in advance to one week in advance only through the National Recreation Reservation Service. Its instant, and only costs 1.50 a permit.
