[pct-l] Permits 2017

[Brick Robbins]

On Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 11:01 AM, James Vesely <veselyjames at gmail.com> wrote:

> Large slugs of PCT hikers are entering National Forest, and National Park
> regions that have very stringent entry quota permits, some of which are
> almost impossible to obtain outside of having a "PCT hiking permit".

I call bullshit on this one too. When there are quotas, they are based
on the TRAILHEAD.
There are NO QUOTAS on the Kennedy Meadows (south) PCT trailhead.

There are quotas on lateral trails in the Sierra, but a Thru Hiker is
not going to be accessing the section of the trail that way.

>The impact of large numbers of hikers that basically game the system

This is NOT "gaming" the system. the PCTA quota setup is not "the
system."  This is complying with the actual legal system that the USFS
and NPS have in place.

Also, when compared to the use by Weekenders, the Thru Hiker pack,
especially by the time they get to the Sierra, are not a "large
number"

The PCTA thru hiker permit was created to be a convenience and to
resolve a dispute between the USFS region 5 and region 6, not a
regulatory vehicle. I was peripherally involved when the PCTA created
the permit, and I am somewhat dismayed that this "convenience"
administered by a NGO is now pretending to be a regulatory vehicle.