Oregon Hikers

They opened full season advance reservations today. I totally forgot to set my alarm and be up at 7am, but still managed to get a reservation for the Six Lakes trail. Backpacking and fishing awaits!

I got a weekend in August at Pamelia Lake at 7am. I would have rather done a week earlier but it was already sold out when I realized my mistake. I think the amount of permits is too limiting. Olympic NP releases all of theirs at once and still has plenty of availability a couple months after release.

Not me. I got most of my Central Cascades trips in within the last few years, expecting that it would be difficult and expensive to visit these places.

I am fantasizing flaunting this just to make a court case because this is not legal

Charley wrote: ↑

April 7th, 2021, 8:35 pm

Not me. I got most of my Central Cascades trips in within the last few years, expecting that it would be difficult and expensive to visit these places.

As for expensive, this is what the FS finally decided on as the fee for overnight permits: "Overnight-use permits will be charged $6.00 per trip. Overnight permits can include up to 12 people for a trip of up to 14 days."

Theoretically, that could be 3.5 cents per person per day.

Aimless wrote: ↑

April 8th, 2021, 11:26 am

As for expensive, this is what the FS finally decided on as the fee for overnight permits: "Overnight-use permits will be charged $6.00 per trip. Overnight permits can include up to 12 people for a trip of up to 14 days."

That is because they determined they wouldn't likely be able to charge an actual permit fee, so the $6 fee is for the online reservation itself. Amusingly, it only costs $1 to reserve a day pass, so apparently having a computer code your permit with more than one date requires $5 extra. Also keep in mind these fees are going to the contractor (is it Halliburton?) who runs Rec.gov, not to the actual USFS itself. So your dollars are paying for exactly nothing, aside from the hypothetical benefit from making it harder to actually go outdoors.

hmmm...

I don't think it's legal for them to charge for access to the National Forest

they can charge for parking at a trailhead to pay for the amenities there

so, maybe they can charge for the cost of administering the permit?

my complaint is they're restricting the number of people that can go on a particular day.

I was looking at overnight backpack in Olympic National Park. They charge a $6 permit fee plus $8 per night. Plus they have a limited number of people allowed per day.

My backpacking partner and I snagged a permit for four days in early August at Three Sisters. Any tips from anyone before we conquer the loop?

This will be her third year trying to backpack that loop and my second. Last year, about a week before our outing, she decided to take a tumble down a cliff in the Wallowas (I joke but super scary -- luckily, she's alive thanks to the pups!). Hoping third times the charm.

Sounds like a lot of people had issues with the system. I got lucky with it working fine on my end.

Aimless wrote: ↑

April 8th, 2021, 11:26 am

Charley wrote: ↑

April 7th, 2021, 8:35 pm

Not me. I got most of my Central Cascades trips in within the last few years, expecting that it would be difficult and expensive to visit these places.

As for expensive, this is what the FS finally decided on as the fee for overnight permits: "Overnight-use permits will be charged $6.00 per trip. Overnight permits can include up to 12 people for a trip of up to 14 days."

Theoretically, that could be 3.5 cents per person per day.

That's why I wrote "expecting that it would be... expensive"- At the time, the FS was floating far higher prices (what was it? $10 per day or something?). As it turns out, a snafu in the rollout prevented them from actually charging anything.