Dog ate your permit?

Ha!

A few years back I was given the wrong permit (different name, zone, etc.) for Desolation at the Ranger’s Office, but I didn’t notice till I was asked for it from a Ranger checking permits on the trail later that afternoon. Luckily, he believed me, but asked that I stop by the office on my way home to clear it up. He took down my info and said he was going to relay it to the office.

Ultimately my fault for not noticing that it was the wrong permit. They even have you sign it to declare that you’ve read it! I had a yearly pass and was going 1-2 times a week, probably over 10 consecutive trips at this point, and just signed it without even looking at it.

Next time just sign your own piece of paper with the words “I’m allowed here.” Works 100% of the time, honest.

Paul, it was nice of the chipmunk to eat around the critical parts of the permit for you…It looks like your name, destination, and dates were all left intact.

Perhaps grab your phone to take a photo of your permit when you receive it.  That would give you insurance and a fun memory.

^I know a photo of the permit is not the same thing as the permit but I always take a photo of mine because I’m worried that I will lose it. My thought is that a kind ranger would let me off, particularly when I have matching ID and I’m following all the regulations concerning bear cans and where I’m camped.

Ironically, because I am a certified volunteer, the permits I get are self-registered, and the only person who signs them is me. But I do have to file them online with the Forest Service.

The real reason for our permits is so that the USFS can honestly say that they require us to report our trip plan to them in advance, so if we go missing, they know where to look.

While that is also a reason for “normal” permits, those also have specific quotas for each sub-region in the wilderness. So they are also a tool to prevent overcrowding.

And a tool for funding… likely the most important thing…

Can’t imagine much funding goes towards enforcement though…I think I’ve been checked on the trail for a permit three times in my life? That’s an incredibly low rate if you total all the days I’ve spent out over the decades…

when backpacking, I don’t carry a phone and I don’t carry I.D., so a photo of my permit would be useless.

As Craig mentions, I’ve been checked…oh I dunno..three times over 3 plus decades? I am pretty scrupulous about getting permits. The chance of a ranger coming along asking for my papers, coupled with a chipmunk eating that very permit, is vanishingly small. I’ll leave all the unnecessary crap behind and just take my chances. That’s part of why I’m out there: leave the crap behind.

It turns out I actually do exist off-line and apart from stamped certification. who knew?

emily dickinson:

I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!

In my experience, wardens require photo ID in conjunction with a hunting or fishing license. I believe the license itself stipulates it must be held in conjunction with ID.

Can rangers request ID in conjunction with a backcountry permit? Does a permit stipulate the holder must carry ID? I’ve never heard anything to this effect though I’m not sure. I’ve always carried ID while backpacking simply to make sure that in the event of an accident, my family gets a call ASAP and my organs get harvested quickly…

^^^^Ol’ “John Doe” jscott, on the other hand….  ;)

I don’t carry a phone, usually, either.  And I’m with WISNER–I carry ID just in case.

As someone who is asked to check permits on behalf of the USFS from time to time, I have never been instructed to check ID to match the permit.  If you’ve gone to the trouble to get and carry around a permit that’s for the right place and the right dates, I think you’re pretty safe.

My name is on the permit, along with my address and phone number; plus they have it at the issuing center. But if a squirrel eats the permit while my body lies a’molderin’…I’ll go down as another John Doe, aka, nobody, along with Emily.