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Just realized how much the JMT permit system has changed since my first hike
Overheard a ranger in Yosemite say they get over 100 lottery entries for a single day now. Makes you wonder if the old walk-up system was better for spreading people out, or just a free-for-all?
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emmap163d ago
My buddy tried for a JMT permit for three years straight before he got one. He said the lottery felt like playing the world's worst scratch off ticket, just with more disappointment. The old walk-up line at Tuolumne was pure chaos but at least you knew your fate by 11am. Now the whole thing is a six month long anxiety dream. I miss the simplicity of showing up and taking your chances, even if it meant going home.
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the_abby3d ago
Three years is just brutal, I can't imagine that kind of waiting. The lottery system really does feel like a special kind of torture because the hope just drags on forever. I get why they changed it, but you're right, there was something honest about the walk-up chaos. You stood in line with everyone else, all sharing the same immediate stress. Now the stress is spread out over months and it somehow feels worse.
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