South to North Permit?

imported
#1

I want to hike this trail with some friends this summer but i have no clue as to what I need in regards to permits or where to get them if we are starting at Whitney and ending in Yosemite. Do I need just a Whitney permit and Yosemite national park permit or is there like a special JMT permit?

Aaron Williamson

#2

You can obtain(required)a permit by phone. Call the Sequoia/Kings Canyon park office if starting near Mt.Whitney and heading north at 559-565-3766(or if heading south from Yosemite Valley area at either 209-372-0740 or 209-372-0200). Just listen to the voice promps to select “widerness permits” be prepaired to give the permit person information ie.;start/end dates,number of people,trailhead start/end points(portals) etc…There is a $5.00 fee (per person/per permit(?) required as well.Hope this helps.Maybe, I will see your group out there this summer I will be going solo (as of now) starting Augest 25th heading south.Tom

tom

#3

i beleive northbound permits for the JMT are issued by whoever manages the trailhead you enter. which means, it might be tricky entering from whitney portal, as they are done by lottery in feb. you will probably need to enter south of whitney and then climb whitney from the east and retrace your steps before heading north to yosemite. i think the New Army Pass/Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead is the most popular and is reached from lone pine.?.?

jerm

#4

If you are starting Northbound from Whitney Portal or New Army Pass/Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead, your permit will be issued by the Inyo National Forest: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/permitsres.shtml

Both trailheads can be reached from Lone Pine.

Kanga

#5

I hiked northbound in 2005 and it was great. If you enter the PCT at Cottonwood Pass, you don’t need to worry about the Mt. Whitney issue. If you do want to climb Mt Whitney and climb back down to Guiter Lake for example, you don’t need to a seperate permit because you don’t go over or past trailcrest. In my case, I had climbed Mt. Whitney a few times in the past, so I didn’t need to climb it. I just followed the PCT to the JMT junction and hike North.

TriHiker

#6

how many permits do you need to hike this trail?

leapyear

#7

Just one, and again, it is issued by the agency responsible for permits where you start your hike. If you’re thru-hiking, that means Inyo National Forest (see URL above in Kanga’s post) or Yosemite National Park (URL: http://www.nps.gov/archive/yose/wilderness/permits.htm. You will be given the opportunity to specify your exit point on your permit application.

Snowbird