Tried the classic John Muir Trail permit lottery versus a walk-up in the Ansel Adams Wilderness

I spent two years trying for a JMT permit and never got one. Last August, I just drove to the Ansel Adams Wilderness and got a walk-up permit for the Silver Divide loop the same day. The scenery was just as good, with way fewer people. Has anyone else had better luck with walk-up permits in the Sierra over the big name lotteries?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivere303d ago

The Ansel Adams area is actually part of the JMT corridor, so you still hiked it.

wright.cole3d agoMost Upvoted

Well, @olivere30, that's a pretty technical way to look at it. Walking through a corridor isn't the same as really seeing a place. The whole point of naming a wilderness area is for the specific stuff inside it, not just the trail that passes by. If you didn't go off the JMT to see the lakes and peaks there, you missed what makes it special. Saying you hiked the Ansel Adams area because you were on the JMT is like saying you visited a city because you drove through on the highway. It just misses the mark for me.