Permits 2019

Jackson said:
I'm a rookie when it comes to river running. Only done the New River in West Virginia. So I have a question (hopefully not to derail the thread too much). Are there just not very many long sections of good rafting river in the country that you can run without a permit?
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There's lots of stuff you can do without a permit but not as much in the multi-day wilderness category. Mostly day runs by highways and that kind of thing. There are certainly some more wilderness type rivers that have less red tape and don't get the pressure of the permit lottery though. Just being in the lotteries amps up the pressure a lot, because it's then on a list. But those rivers that are permit controlled are generally that way for good reason. They're awesome and lots of people want to do it. One could argue that they could put a lot more people on most of the rivers, but I sure am glad it's limited. Even launching with 4 other groups on the Middle Fork last year, it still felt like a fantastic wilderness experience. Imagine if everyone was moving roughly the same pace down the same trail. You never run into anyone!
 
Nick said:
Whaaaaaaat?! You stole my date! I swear they must be giving you Montana folk some extra entries! How many times have you been down that?
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I entered as a non-resident, just like you ;) I've been down twice and pulled a permit twice. Also been invited a few times more but hadn't gone.

I'm looking at doing a Ruby-Horsetheif in May and will have to do some juggling to make them both work.

So.. you are saying you are looking for memorial day plans?
 
AustinCronnelly said:
So.. you are saying you are looking for memorial day plans?
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Why yes, I am! I'm really good at groover duty (and any other chores) if you're looking to add a boat to your trip! :) I've got a Westwater lined up for 3/30 if you want to get some Colorado River in a little earlier. Space on my Salt trip this month too if you feel like driving 10 hours.
 
Jackson said:
I'm a rookie when it comes to river running. Only done the New River in West Virginia. So I have a question (hopefully not to derail the thread too much). Are there just not very many long sections of good rafting river in the country that you can run without a permit?
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@Jackson, come on up to AK, we're full of them. I'll reserve you a seat on our boat.
 
Jackson said:
I'm a rookie when it comes to river running. Only done the New River in West Virginia. So I have a question (hopefully not to derail the thread too much). Are there just not very many long sections of good rafting river in the country that you can run without a permit?
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Nick's answer to your question pretty much sums it up, but its helpful to think about how much wilderness there is out there (relatively, not that much), and then think about what percentage of that wilderness happens to be river shoreline.
 
IntrepidXJ said:
I've been meaning to do it for a long time and finally decided to go for it this year!
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I've only done the day hike... and what a day it was. Take lots of water as the spring at the campground is no longer safe to use.
 
I wanted that one until I read of the horrible crimes that occur around the lake shore. Nah-h, just kidding.

I did not. My trip isn't until mid-September.

Sounds like a great trip for you, though! Did they give you 6A3 instead? That may be better protected from the winds.
 
Outdoor_Fool said:
I wanted that one until I read of the horrible crimes that occur around the lake shore. Nah-h, just kidding.

I did not. My trip isn't until mid-September.

Sounds like a great trip for you, though! Did they give you 6A3 instead? That may be better protected from the winds.
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Yes, they gave us 6A3 instead. Unfortunately, I have stayed at 6A3 before, so I wanted to try a different one. Doesn't hurt our day hike out to Two Ocean Plateau though.
 
No river trips for me (have not gotten into that adventure yet!) but did get a boulderfield permit to climb Longs Peak in August (hopefully post t-storms and pre-snow :cool:). Surprisingly just about the same week I scored one last year too. Other than that the only two permits I got probably are not showstoppers for most here.... one to Mirror Lake and one to the Upper Ouzel. For me though... places I wanted to mark off my list and there is some great climbs I can try from those locations.
 
Received notification from Glacier NP that I pulled a permit for a point-to-point with nights at Gunsight and Lake Ellen Wilson in August. A little bummed because it was my last choice, but something is better than nothing.
 
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