I registered for my thru-hiker permits for this yr, but recieved an email saying I needed to send them 15 bucks for my stay at Whitney. Is this normal? Did you past hikers spend the money or just say you weren’t hiking Whitney? Not to be cheap, but 15 bucks seems steep for a “reservation” when you don’t even know when you’ll be there.
A-Train
When we did the JMT in '04 I recall having to pay $15 for the permit to walk the trail inside the parks…not Whitney as such. There were five of us and we did meet a ranger on horseback who asked to see one of our registrations.
Having said that, we had to carry our food in canisters while I heard that they do not enforce this with PCT hikers.
Good Luck! You will find the scenery in High Sierras spectacular and the footpath a delight. I’ve got to get my ass in gear and do the PCT one of these days. I keep saying I’m going to, but something always comes up that keeps me from going out there for 4-6 months.
Take Care & Hike On!
skeemer
$15 is the normal fee for Whitney.
The “Whitney Zone” sticker that the PCTA will place on your PCT permit allows you to summit Whitney (legally) when you reach that point on your hike. This flexibility is a real luxury, considering that during popular months (all summer), the permits for climbers are issued on a lottery basis, and you have to lock into a set date.
On both of my PCT thru-hikes i paid the fee and had the peace of mind of not worrying about being caught by a Ranger. Although meeting an enforcement Ranger is highly unlikely, i have heard that the fine is really steep, like the mountain…
The climb of Whitney itself is spectacular - well worth the effort if you have decent weather and enough food!
Good luck and Happy trails!
freebird
I paid $15 for my permit. I don’t think you’ll see a ranger, but it is worth the “piece of mind” in my opinion. It also makea great memento!
(can see where I used to live. :D)
Paul Mags
When I did the John Muir in 2002 starting at Yos. and heading South to end at Whitney, there was no charge at all, and the only Ranger I saw the whole time was at Half Dome, or that campground right before half dome.
Maybe its changed.
Lion King
Lion King - did you have a permit to hike the JMT? There is a $15 fee for Whitney. Maybe it’s included with a JMT permit. Yeah, sure, you can get up Whitney without paying the fee (if you don’t see a Ranger), but you’re supposed to have the Whitney stamp on your permit.
I’ve been up Whitney twice — in 2001 and 2002. The fee was required both years and for every year since then. I did not see a Ranger either time, but that doesn’t change the fact that there is a fee. I know of PCT hikers who were turned back at the Whitney Portal trail and told to go back down to Guitar Lake because they did not have the Whitney stamp on their PCT permits.
With the growing number of hikers on the PCT, it’s important that we hikers continue to abide by the regulations.
yogi
yogi
Agreed, not trying to ‘get out’ of paying for a permit, as I sent mine in yesterday for the PCT, just saying I had no permit and no one told me I needed one then(for the JMT), so I let it go at that. The JM permit they gave me didnt cost me anything. I got a basic permit when they made…yes Made me get a bear cannister. I even told them I was finishing at Whitney and they didnt charge me, it just happened that way.
Maybe I got a new ranger…
although, outside of the maintaning, there shouldnt be a charge to walk through the mountains. No one owns them, but the people who take care of the trails deserve something and most of them are just volunteers, they deserve more then praise for sure.
I hate that I have to get one, but if the money goes to the PCTA to help with website, trail, water caches, etc…its worth it.
Permits hermits. 
keep it wild!
Lion King
did the jmt last year sobo from yosemite valley. my permit was free, i got it the morning before we started. the three other fellas i was hiking with had a permit reserved, which you can get up to 24 weeks in advance. that cost them $5. when you get a sobo jmt permit from yosemite it is typically for an entry of Happy Isles->Sunrise/Merced Lake or Little Yosemite Valley (pass through) and exit of whitney portal. that is what is on our permit. since there was an open slot i was just added to their permit. we did not have to pay the $15 whitney fee.
it does say on the Inyo National Forest website that if you enter the whitney zone on any part of your trip that the permit fee is $15, instead of $5. and the main mt. whitney trail from whitney portal is done by lottery.
i think that myabe we did not have to pay the $15 b/c our permit was issued by yosemite and not inyo nat’l forest.
jerm
at leaast for SOBO JMTers. It was $5 and not $15 as I misspoke in my earlier post. I remember now buying two permits in advance thinking $5 was no big deal and I ended up giving one to one of the other guys. And we did not have to pay $15 for Whitney fee. What in the hell is wrong with me.
I shouldn’t be allowed to participate in these forums.
:mad
skeemer
any nobo jmters out there??? i would assume if you started at whitney portal and went up the main whitney trail you’d have to pay the $15. but would you have to do that by the overnight lottery with inyo??? what if your entry trail was horseshoe meadows. then could you climb up whitney on the jmt to start. which is what pcters do. i thought the $15 was more for those heading up the main whitney trail.
but i did see on the pcta permit form the place for the $15 if you want to climb whitney from the west side. but when reading on a forest service page about pct permits it says that the permit can be issued by whatever agency at the hikers hits first and covers you for the rest of your hike. that would be like hiking the jmy sobo and having yosemite issue you your permit. just a thought.
jerm
About seeing a ranger - I hiked the JMT in 2003 and went from the Whitney summit to Whitney Portal. On the way down, there was a ranger, his dog and his tea set. Enjoying the day and checking Whitney permits. Nice guy, but ready to fine.
j j