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reststep Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2001 Posts: 4757 | TRs | Pics
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reststep
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Thu Jul 02, 2020 4:25 pm
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Good info PTLateHiker. Thank you.
"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir
"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir
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PTLateHiker Member
Joined: 11 Feb 2004 Posts: 125 | TRs | Pics Location: Port Townsend |
I finished up a couple of backcountry reservations in ONP, and have a couple of followups to my post on 7/2.
Information about the fees and cancellations is available in a dropdown here:
https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/wilderness-reservations.htm
I managed to get a couple of off trail campsites approved by the method I described - include an extra day at a selected campsite on the itinerary and then call up the WIC to have some days moved. The Royal Basin example I used is correct. It's a little confusing because the sites you are able to choose are limited by what the software thinks you can get to in a day - and it wouldn't let me go from Quinault to Staircase campsites for instance.
The site says you'll receive a refund on everything but the $6 reservation fee if you cancel a week or more in advance. More importantly, the information about changes is misleading. It says you can make CHANGES to a reservation up to 2 days in advance. HOWEVER, IF ONE OF THE THINGS YOU WANT TO CHANGE IS THE START DATE THE ENTIRE RESERVATION HAS TO BE CANCELLED AND YOUR ENTIRE PREPAYMENT IS LOST.
So, let's say it's Thursday and I've got a trip scheduled to start on Sunday. The weather forecast is terrible so I want to leave a day later. Even if all the sites are still available the entire trip has to be cancelled, the prepayment lost, and you have to start over.
Just be aware.
"back at camp the mountain peak still in my legs" - Yu Chang
"back at camp the mountain peak still in my legs" - Yu Chang
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Eaglecadd Member
Joined: 05 Feb 2010 Posts: 185 | TRs | Pics Location: Kailua Kona, HI |
I still have a valid annual backcountry pass good thru August. How do I use it when making reservations?
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PTLateHiker Member
Joined: 11 Feb 2004 Posts: 125 | TRs | Pics Location: Port Townsend |
You apply your pass # when it asks you information about the members in your party after you’ve completed your itinerary. Look for a drop down menu next to the name for each hiker.
"back at camp the mountain peak still in my legs" - Yu Chang
"back at camp the mountain peak still in my legs" - Yu Chang
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Eaglecadd Member
Joined: 05 Feb 2010 Posts: 185 | TRs | Pics Location: Kailua Kona, HI |
I tried that but it reverted back to its base option. I guess I will need to call WIC Monday anyway since most of my planned backpack trips are offtrail anyway so reserving campsites is really ridiculous and takes up spots others might need. The site is really backward.
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Eaglecadd Member
Joined: 05 Feb 2010 Posts: 185 | TRs | Pics Location: Kailua Kona, HI |
As I said earlier, I set up a couple backpack trips on rec.gov. Neither really worked for offtrail locations so I called the WIC this morning to revise them. Got to say I was very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to reach them by phone. The ranger was super helpful and very knowledgeable of the backcountry. She really made it easy. Got proper permits for where I really plan to go. Super experience.
She also suggested that for anyone planning offtrail adventures like me should just call them at the WIC and they will set it up for you.
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meck Member
Joined: 31 Dec 2010 Posts: 920 | TRs | Pics
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meck
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Mon Jul 06, 2020 5:44 pm
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PTLakeHiker: That's pretty lame about losing the prepay fee (especially for an automated system) for start date changes. Thank you for posting this info, that is good to know.
Eaglecadd, thank you also for that info. Its good to know that the WIC can still work with visitors for the offtrail stuff (I was kind of wondering how the website was going to handle that).
*Just say NO to Rent-Seeking, don't give up the concept of "ownership"*
*Just say NO to Rent-Seeking, don't give up the concept of "ownership"*
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