Forum Index > Trail Talk > New Reservation System for Olympic National Park Wilderness
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MyFootHurts
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PostFri Mar 29, 2013 10:06 pm 
Reading the park webpage, it looks like no phone reservations any more for the first-come-first-served campsites. mad.gif They used to let you call the WIC the day before your trip and let you reserve any vacancies they had.

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Lotus54
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PostSat Mar 30, 2013 4:57 pm 
Don't get me started on the fees... It started as a 'demo' program. Only certain parks do it. My call? WASO uses it as an excuse to keep base funding lower- and costs loads just to collect the fee. Guess there are a bunch more places I won't be going (too many much better places to go here that are not reservation anyway) I agree on the fax, in this day and age, why waste all the paper and use such a crude method?

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Slugman
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PostSat Mar 30, 2013 9:44 pm 
For all of lead dog's talk about Wyoming, apparently he's never been to Yellowstone or Grand Teton, which, you guessed it, are in Wyoming. Here's a quote from the Yellowstone and the Grand Teton websites: Requests for reservations must be submitted by mail, fax, or in person. They cannot be made over the phone or by email. A confirmation notice, not a permit, is given or emailed to the camper. This confirmation notice must then be converted to the actual permit not more than 48 hours in advance of the first camping date. Details are provided on the confirmation notice. The reservation fee is $25.00 regardless of the number of nights out or the number of people involved. So, just a reservation will cost you $25. Wow. Wyoming sure is great huh? Everything is always free, huh? Now, let's look at Washington. Mt Rainier and North Cascades don't charge for permits. Hmm, what happened to Washington always charging and Wyoming always being free? Wait, I know, the real problem is this: lead dog doesn't know squat, except to try to take cheap shots at Washington. Hey lead dog, if you hate it here so much, why don't you leave, instead of slandering the state? Really, the constant barrage of anti-Washington falsehoods is getting pretty old and has always been pathetic. down.gif down.gif

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Washakie
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PostSun Mar 31, 2013 12:47 pm 
I hate state slandering, don't you?

"What is the color when black is burned?" - Neil Young "We're all normal when we want our freedom" - Arthur Lee "The internet can make almost anyone seem intelligent" - Washakie
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contour5
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PostSun Mar 31, 2013 2:52 pm 
The fees are a pretty good deal, especially if you can take advantage of the seasonal passes. Last year I spent $60 for the Entry/Parking and wilderness camping passes, plus $30 for the DNR card. I backpacked and car camped about 45 days in and around the park- for a cost of around $2 per day. Cheaper than many of the other third world countries I've camped in. Probably cost more than I paid, just to issue the permits and process the info and spit out the little plastic cards. I can see why they would dump the phone reservations. Hopefully they can replace it with some kind of automated email or a web browser sign-up. Fax and mail? I'm laughing, but only because I don't make reservations. I never had any trouble just showing up, even on the holidays. I plan my hikes obsessively, but I generally leave my trips to fate. When the campgrounds are crowded, I'd rather car camp on the back roads anyway, so I don't need no stinkin' reservations nohow.

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reststep
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PostSun Mar 31, 2013 8:26 pm 
From Olympic National Park Website
Quote:
Some ranger stations and a few trailheads have self-registration permit boxes. Contact the WIC for locations. e-mail us Upon completion of your outing, mail your payment in the envelope. Do not leave payment in trailhead permit boxes.
I am glad to see they still have trailhead self-registration for some areas anyway.

"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir
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jhudson
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PostMon Apr 01, 2013 8:39 am 
Thanks for this information. Last year they only took reservations up to 30 days in advance now you can register for any day in the season. Reservation sent for the 7 lakes basin.

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Schroder
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PostMon Apr 01, 2013 10:29 am 
RumiDude wrote:
I can fax with either my printer or simply use my computer to fax. Pretty dang simple really.
assuming you have a land line - which we haven't had in over 8 years. faxes. really?

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coldrain108
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PostMon Apr 01, 2013 1:22 pm 
Just put in for my annual URB and 7 lakes adventures. We'll see how it goes. Cost me 30$ for two trips for two people to my favorite National Park. Sounds like a deal to me. Permits and fees keep the riff-raff at bay...not quite so likely to cut trees, burn illegal fires and be generally destructive if you can be tracked down...with a credit card on file - I like it! The old 30 day system was so cool for us locals. I only needed to plan my trips a month in advance and I was almost always assured of getting the spots I wanted. Now I must compete with the unwashed masses.

Since I have no expectations of forgiveness, I don't do it in the first place. That loop hole needs to be closed to everyone.
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Tvashtar
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PostMon Apr 01, 2013 2:03 pm 
HALLO. IN OLD COUNTRY WE MAKE RESERVE BY TELEX, BUT CANNOT GET MORE TICK PAPER, SO WE SEND SCAN OF TELEX WE WANT SEND ON FACEBOOK MESSAGE FOR RESERVE, YES?

"We are, all of us, in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde
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snowdeuce
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snowdeuce
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PostTue Apr 02, 2013 8:32 am 
I'm bummed about this. I travel to ONP by bus, and it was really great being able to call the WIC, plan a trip on 2-3 days notice, and have a permit emailed to me the day before my trip. And no reservations for non-quota areas? It sounds like I'm gonna have to work in a stop at the ranger station in my transit plans.

Repeal the parking fee for WA state public lands! The Ninth Circuit court has said this isn't allowed for federal public lands; why are we allowing it at the state level?
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coldrain108
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coldrain108
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PostFri Apr 12, 2013 3:00 pm 
just recieved my confirmations, got all the trips I requested. up.gif up.gif up.gif

Since I have no expectations of forgiveness, I don't do it in the first place. That loop hole needs to be closed to everyone.
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jhudson
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PostFri Apr 12, 2013 3:15 pm 
I got mine as well. Just a FYI, this is only for areas that require reservations, not all permits which would make it exactly like last year I believe.
Quote:
Quotas: For the following high-use wilderness camp areas, overnight use limits are in effect between May 1 and September 30 to help minimize human impacts and provide a quality wilderness experience. Reservations are recommended. Reservations for non-quota areas (brown camps on Campsite Map) are not accepted. Permits for these areas are not limited and may be picked up at a permit office the day of your hike or day before. Quota Areas: Ozette Coast (Yellow Banks to Point of the Arches).... Advance reservations are required and must be obtained through the WIC prior to arrival in the Ozette area. Royal Basin /Royal Lake.... Advance reservations are required and must be obtained from the WIC prior to arrival in the Royal Basin area. Grand and Badger Valleys (including the Deer Park to Obstruction Point Trail).... 50% advance reservations available. The other 50% is available first come first serve from the WIC in person during business hours up to 24 hours in advance. This area includes all areas from Obstruction Point to Grand Pass, Badger Valley and Lake Lillian. Lake Constance.... Advance reservations required. Upper Lena Lake....Advance reservations required. Flapjack Lakes (includes Gladys Divide).... 50% advance reservations available. The other 50% is available first come first serve in person from the Staircase Ranger Station during business hours up to 24 hours in advance. Sol Duc/Seven Lakes Basin/Mink Lake area (including Cat Basin, High Divide and Little Divide).... 50% advance reservations available. The other 50% is available first come first serve from the WIC during business hours up to 24 hours in advance. If there is only 1 site then that site is reservable. Hoh Lake and C.B. Flats.... 50% advance reservations available. The other 50% is available first come first serve from the WIC in person during business hours up to 24 hours in advance. Hoh River Trail.... Reservations are available for Elk Lake, Glacier Meadows and for group sites (sites for 7-12 persons) and stock sites along the Hoh River Trail. 50% advance reservations available. The other 50% is available first come first serve from the WIC in person during business hours up to 24 hours in advance. If there is only 1 site then that site is reservable.

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wolfs
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PostFri Apr 12, 2013 3:49 pm 
I hate the mail only reservation systems I have had to deal with. One of two things usually happens: * The person who processes the form makes every good effort to account for alternate plans, dates, destinations etc. - all of which takes a long time to interpret on the average form. So much time that probably it would have been more efficient to have a phone conversation with the submitter. * The person processing the form has various shortcuts for processing the forms quickly that are secret and beknown only to that one individual. Any possible interpretation questions about alternates are ignored and a reservation is formulated based on a mix of expediency and randomness. Resulting in a reservation that the requester totally does not want and won't use. Guess which of these two happens the most frequently? For somewhere like the Olympics where the possible routes are many and varied and there are dozens of discrete camping designations in one rough area (like Solduc basin) it's challenging for even veterans of the process to provide adequate guidance in the alternates in printed form. It was easy over the phone. Why couldn't they do phone appointments at least (this was de facto anyways, you usually got a callback from the WIC rather than live person the first time.)

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Langdon Greene
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PostFri Apr 12, 2013 6:58 pm 
Got mine, dates/sites exactly as requested. Shweeeeeet! Incidentally, regarding cost: the fees for my route for 2 people totalled only $29. More than I'd pay in a national forest, sure, but if they had applied the same fee/permit rates that I got charged in Glacier or Zion, I'd have paid more than double that. $29 is chump change compared to my flight & rental car. I can live with that.

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