Wilderness permit from Tuolumne meadows

I was wondering how to put trailhead together to make sure I will get Half Dome .We have 12 people entry trailhead Raferty creek -Vogelsgang(spending 1.st night at High Sierra Camp Vogelsgang and exit trailhead HAppy Isles-Little Yosemite Valley
We will spend second night at Merced Lake High Sierra Camp,I know that I do not need permit for the first 2 nights,but last night we will have to spend night close to Half Dome,probably LYV and hike the Half dome next day and than exit to Yosemite Valley.
Is that good trail that we have high chances obtaining wilderness permit for all of us plus Half Dome?

Somebody?

No disrespect, but I think you are confused.
I highly recommend that you call the wilderness center and just ask.

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You can call us at 209/372-0826 (Monday-Friday, 9 am to noon and 1 pm to 4:30 pm).

Originally you said you had 10 people. Now it is 12.
I never stayed at HSC accomodations so I am not 100% sure but it would be
ludicrous to require a separate permit for the HSC reservation which serves
as your permit just to stay an extra night at LYV. You have to exit somewhere.
So why not Happy Isles?
What I'm guessing they will say is that you need to come into the wilderness
center and get a Half Dome "permit/stamp" on your HSC reservation
and pay the $5/person, other than that, you are good to go.
But my suggestion is to simply call to make sure.

Have fun

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I called Wilderness center and they told me to get that permit going down from Tuolumne. Logically I would think like you,but they told me otherwise.Also we originally go 8 people,but closer we get,our group is getting bigger.

Maybe you asked this already here:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g61000-i315-k5934500-Winning_High_Sierra_Camp-Yosemite_National_Park_California.html

Anyway, best of luck. I would not want to have to try to get all the permits for Rafferty.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/30/2012 01:47PM by chick-on.

His final night is camping, not at an HSC. So I'd assume some wilderness permit would be needed.

Still, the result is, as Katy notes, to take the entire reservable Rafferty Creek total when he only plans to camp one night, and that far from Rafferty Creek. Doesn't makes sense, but I don't know what other permit would apply.

A few years ago I canoed in Quetico/Boundary Waters, entering in Boundary Waters, where every night but my final one was in Quetico (Canada), the final one was in Boundary Waters (USFS - Superior NF). They had a "From Canada" permit to account for that situation, which made a lot of sense to me.

Edit: OK, you edited out the stuff that I was replying to, as I was replying to it!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/30/2012 01:57PM by ttilley.

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chatka
I called Wilderness center and they told me to get that permit going down from Tuolumne. Logically I would think like you,but they told me otherwise.Also we originally go 8 people,but closer we get,our group is getting bigger.

You cannot easily add people to a permit once you have it. So once you get a permit, you'll have to stop the group from getting bigger. Or one of those people will have to get a second permit. And if the group as a whole gets bigger than 15, you will have to start the second group from another trailhead altogether and you will have to hike apart from each other for the duration and never camp all in the same place.

Unless, like me, you tend to have a ton of people drop off every single trip, in which case, get the permit you can get, and surrender the extra spots as people drop off. I don't think I've had more than two backpacking trips with more than 10 people.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2013 11:15PM by AlmostThere.

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chatka
I was wondering how to put trailhead together to make sure I will get Half Dome .We have 12 people entry trailhead Raferty creek -Vogelsgang(spending 1.st night at High Sierra Camp Vogelsgang and exit trailhead HAppy Isles-Little Yosemite Valley.
Is that good trail that we have high chances obtaining wilderness permit for all of us plus Half Dome?

and the Wilderness Center says that you do need a wilderness permit. So here is how to apply:

Fill out the permit reservation form here
Rafferty Creek - Vogelsang is your entry trailhead.
Happy Isles - Little Yosemite Valley is your exit trailhead.

Print out your form and fax it in.
Faxed reservations are accepted 24 weeks (168 days) in advance of your trip.

You are looking for 12 spots which is the entire reservable allotment for Rafferty Creek.
Will you get it? Only one way to find out - fax in that reservation request.

If your request is denied then come back and ask us here for alternatives.

One other point...if he's entering Saturday or Sunday, he should FAX sometime after 5 PM Friday and before 7 AM (or thereabouts) Monday, from the 24 week period, at which point he will effectively be entering a lottery.