For my thru, which I’m starting around July 20th, would I be able to book my permit at Toulumne that day, hitch down to Happy Isles and begin?
Or perhaps walk in at Yosemite and book a start for the next day at Happy Isles, but stealth camp the first night? Has anyone had experience doing any of these?
bryanonfilm
The park service makes it really hard on us JMTers. Unless you get a permit to start at Happy Isles, which is difficult, you will be illegal no matter how you do it. Here’s what I ended up doing: At Yosemite Valley, since the quota was full for the next couple of days, I got a ranger to pity me and write a special permit that allowed me to hike from Happy Isles to Tuolumne on the condition that I did not camp along the way. The ranger wasn’t even sure if the other rangers would honor his permit if I was stopped along the way. I struck out at 4am from the Curry Village Backpacker’s camp and actually made it the whole way to Tuolumne in one day. No one ever asked to see my permit. I would have stealth camped, though, if I had run out of energy. A number of JMT hikers I talked to had similar problems. Several just started at Tuolumne, then after they finished, went back and completed the Happy Isles segment. Not the best way to end a hike.
Ron
I would suggest camp at the backpackers camp near Curry village and be very early in line for a permit out of Happy Isles. If you are first or second in line I would think the chance of getting a permit starting at Happy Isles or possibly Tuolumne would be very good. It would possibly be contrary to regulations to camp at the backpackers camp prior to having a permit but perhaps explaining the situation and your plans might make this possible. I camped at the camp two years ago on the same date as you propose and the camp was less than half full.
If you score a permit out of Tuolumne, the Yarts bus will take you there. If it is late in the day when you arrive at Tuolumne, there is a backpackers camp there which is within regulations if you have a permit.
RichardD
Thanks for your help guys. Ron, permits were full for a couple days? So walking up would be LITERALLY impossible for hikers when you went? I thought they had to issue several walk ups a day. Hmmm.
So it is possible to score a permit at Tuolomne for Happy Isles? From what I got from reading a bunch, I only need to specify my first night’s camp spot. Couldn’t I say I would start somewhere and easily just hop on at Happy Isles? Are rangers active there? Thanks again, sorry for the overload. 
bryanonfilm
Getting a walk up permit at YV is not at all impossible, just a hassle. I’ll go into more detail and you can see how absurd it gets. I live in Portland, so to get there flew to Sacramento, stayed overnight, then took Amtrak to Merced, then YARTS to YV. By the time I got there it was noon, so not only could I not get a walk-in permit for that day, but, since you can request a walk-in permit a day in advance, all of the next day’s were taken, plus 4 or 5 people on the waiting list. I could have shown up the next morning to try to get a permit for the following day, but if I had failed it would have been too late to hike to Tuolumne in a single day. I opted instead, to get the aforementioned ‘special’ permit to hike the distance the next morning.
What the park ranger told me was the normal scenario for walk up permits is to arrive at YV the morning before (they assume you have a car), get a walk up permit for the next day, then drive back out of the park, stay somewhere, then return the next day (without your car, since there is nowhere to park) and start your trip. Since I didn’t have a car, the park ranger took mercy on me and issued a special permit.
Hopefully someday the park service will become sympathetic with the plight of JMT hikers and have special JMT permits. In the meantime I suggest that you just go to Yosemite Valley and get the first permit you can, if you can afford to wait a day or two. You are only allowed to camp at the hiker camp one night, but I didn’t see anyone checking that closely. Once you make it out of the chaos of YV the rest of the JMT is wonderful.
Good luck! Ron
Ron
Thanks so much Ron, you’ve clarified a lot. Just a couple follow up questions. Where exactly in the park is the best ranger station located? Do they all offer the same amount of permits?
Also, could I tell the ranger I’m starting at Glacier Point, maybe to get a permit for that day? And then I could just stealth camp the first night on the trail if I left from Happy Isles anyway. What do you think?
bryanonfilm
Also, I plan on flying into Reno and hitching down. Would I be able to get a permit for Happy Isles at the Toulumne Ranger Station? That way I could spend the day slowly making my way to the park and start the next morning. Does Toulumne issue permits for Happy Isles?
bryanonfilm
The best ranger station is the closest one to your starting point. I have always gone to the one at Yosemite Village. Here is what the nps.gov website says: “Wilderness Permits are available at any permit issuing station starting one day before the beginning of your hike. Priority for permits for a particular trailhead is given to the closest permit issuing station, though it is possible to obtain a permit for any trailhead at any permit issuing station.” Looking at the permit availability right now, it looks like Glacier Point is just as bad as Happy Isles. If you leave from Happy Isles with a Glacier Point permit, there is a reasonable chance there will be a ranger on the trail before you reach Little Yosemite Valley, in which case it could really disrupt your trip. So, imho, there is significant risk. I recommend just working with rangers on a plan.
Ron
If you have a few bucks to spend, there is a Crest Bus that will take you from the Reno Airport to Lee Vining or Mammoth, where you can take Yarts on in to Tuolumne or Yosemite Valley. It doesn’t run every day, so you have to schedule ahead. Here is a link: http://easternsierratransitauthority.com/wb/ Much easier than hitching. As I said in the other note, you should be able to get a Happy Isles permit at Tuolumne. A few years back, I did the opposite and got a Tuolumne permit at Yosemite Village.
Ron
We are also heading out on the JMT this summer. My partner spoke at great length to a ranger just prior to getting our permits. She asked if we did not get the HI permit would we be able to hike back to HI and then take a shuttle back to TM and continue from there. She was told that it was possible but you will need 2 permits out of TM. one for each direction. We got our permits and unfortunately did not get our 1st or 2nd choices. We got TM. Many have told us to just go up a few days early and try for a walk-in permit. At this point it is all we can do. Good luck with your permit and your hike. :girl
Hammock Hanger
The story is useless. The permit was useful.
On our 2006 thru, we figured we’d take the train and shuttle into the valley, somehow find someplace to camp legally or not, and then go first thing the next morning before the ranger station opened, counting on getting 2 walk-up permits for the following day (the 3rd day).
To be sure we knew where the permit office, we went there when we got to valley on the first afternoon, upon arrival at about 3pm. They had 2 walk-up permits…for THAT day. So we hustled our stuff together and set out 2 days earlier than we expected. We never got to see any of the valley, but it was a fun, frantic start.
Anything can happen. Just show up and find out what your destiny is.
markv
on my 07 hike a friend i met did basically what you suggested for your first option. He arrived at Happy Isles without a permit, talked with the Rangers and got a permit from Toulumne starting the next day. He bused to Toulumne, hiked back to Happy Isles, and then hitched back to Toulumne and continued south. Not exactly a straight line, but he walked every mile of it.
I just reserved one.
weez
If you are flying into Reno, it’d be most efficient and easiest to take the bus to Lee Vining. Hitch up the hill to the Wilderness Center in Tuolomne Meadow, a place where you can get a permit. If you arrive late, you can camp in the backpacker’s site at TM.
Many “thru-hikers” on the JMT actually start at TM and head south, avoiding the craziness and hassles of the Valley.
When you get a permit, you are really only getting it for a particular gateway and first night camping. After that, you are free to go where you want. So at TM, get whatever portal to the wilderness is open for the next day. Hike in, camp, then hike out the next day and either get on the JMT going south, or for purists, catch the bus for the Valley. Camp in the backpackers campground that night, then head out from Happy Isle the next morning.
So be flexible about where you camp the first night, and it is very likely you can get a permit at TM. You may need a day or two longer to complete your thru hike, but it’s not a race; you are there to enjoy it.
Bryan
Like the way you spell your name! haha. Flying into Mammoth now on the 20th. So it would be legal if I camped near TM (permit pending) on the 21st then hiked out and started the 22nd at Happy Isles?
Also, any suggestion where to camp near TM our first night, the 20th? We’d be hitching straight from Mammoth. Thanks a ton!
bryanonfilm