Seeking clarity on walk ups for High Sierra Trail.

I love that area. I would assume that you have to specify your first night  but after that you can connect up to the remainder of the trail how you see fit, similar to the JMT, is that not the case?

“being told…”  Is it the staff or rangers at the district office closest to the TH giving you the conflicting information?

In the past, I have found that the local stations are usually pretty good at giving information and advice.  But many of the stations have been closed or operating with reduced staff so this year might not be normal.

My understanding is there are no longer any ‘walk ups’ in the traditional sense of arriving to the visitor center with no permit and then getting one.

All permits are obtained on recreation.gov before you leave your home.

‘Walk up’ means quota space that can only be reserved within 2 weeks of the departure date.

Yes everyone is logging in and refreshing the webpage every morning (7am ???) hoping they get a chance to reserve those last spots. Same thing 6 months ago for the first 60% of the quota. If you don’t go through this hassle there will be no recourse; the visitor centers are closed.

If you show up with no permit, you’re not getting one.

I’m also of the understanding that you are allowed to plan any route you want (you still need list your campsites for every night) and its up to the rangers reviewing the online permit requests to ensure your presence in those areas at those times will be ok; if its not your permit will be denied…

I have a permit for July 20 and the 2nd night at Precipice Lake which is on the HST.  But some folks on Facebook were saying that Alta  TH people were not allowed to HST.    So I think I am good, but would like to get a walk up for the HST.     And Am I understanding that walkups work like reservations on Recreaiton.gov only two weeks prior to date?

I have tried calling the ranger station, but of course not getting through.   Not complaining,  I understand and support the rangers,  just trying to navigate new scenarios of permitting and such.

Thanks

recreation.gov shows in bold letters for the Alta trail when you go to reserve a permit:

This entry point does not allow travel on the High Sierra Trail between the Sevenmile Hill Trail and Kaweah Gap; to do so select a “High Sierra Trail” entry point instead.

I’ve never had success calling SEKI, but they’ve always responded reasonably fast to email.

Thanks, sorry, that I didn’t notice that.   Interesting that the system let me schedule a night at Hamilton/Precipice Lake.   Guess I will have to try for a “walkup” or maybe check out Sixty Lakes of Jenny Lakes.

By the way,   do you know which trailheads are allowed to access the HST?

Thanks

That stinks, I hate special rules…It would be smart and rational if they just accounted for all possible reasonable entry points when calculating the quota they want to meet for the HST. It isn’t rocket science, but navigating the site to try for permits can be a bit indirect when looking for the info to list all available scenarios. Good luck with the walk up. All that area is nice, even if you don’t get the HST permits

Was able to get a permit for Florence Lake (Muir Trail Ranch) to Mt. Whitney with exit on those days.    I am hiking with my daughter and she wants to do HST and JMT.  She has done most of the northern section of the JMT with me and will be excited about doing the southern half of the JMT.   The JMT is a  little crowded for me as is the HST.  I have done the both and now prefer hiking less crowded trails, but still enjoy taking family on these trails when I get a chance.

Thanks for trying to help.   God bless

The Alta trail specification about not being able to join the High Sierra Trail (for that small specific section only) is new for this year. A lot of people missed it when getting their permits, so I wonder how strictly it will be enforced this year.

I don’t think this new rule makes much sense, as I’ve used an Alta trail permit in the past to join up with the HST and then promptly leave it at Bearpaw Meadow to go over Elizabeth Pass, making a wonderful loop back to Lodgepole. This was great, as I was able to do my trip while leaving HST permits open for those hiking the HST.

SEKI should have separate permits for people just going to Hamilton Lakes and for those going beyond Kaweah Gap. Or as suggested above, account for all reasonable entrances.