[Jack's Mom]

When will the lottery for Enchantment permits open?

[Snowday]

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/okawen/passes-permits/recreation/?cid=fsbdev3_053607

[iron]

[olderthanIusedtobe]

The takeaway from that graphic is that Stuart and Caroline zones should be a piece of cake to get permits for.

[reststep]

That might depend on what dates you put in for.

[Windstorm]

[Foist]

Only time I have been to the Enchantments was 2006 with my dad. We showed up at the ranger station in Leavenworth on a Monday morning, and the ranger picked names out of his hat for the walk-up permits. We had like 75% odds of getting a permit. Spent 3 glorious nights up there. I would be just content with that memory, but problem is, my wife has not been there and is dying to go...

[iron]

[Foist]

This also confirms the point I have been harping on when hiking crowds comes up. Yes, Seattle has exploded from a population of 600k to 700k since 2010. That's nuts -- a 17% increase. But the hiking increase has way, way outpaced even that explosion. Just check out that chart -- that's an 800% increase!! I think the simple reason is that hiking is now cool with the kids. When I was in college (class of '02) I did a lot of hiking. I did not see many people my age on the trail. It was mostly older people. When I told people I spent my summer vacation doing a lot of hiking, the response was, oh how interesting and quaint and quirky that you do that stuff. Now, you see tons of college-age kids and twenty-somethings. But coolness is cyclical. What is cool today may not be cool tomorrow. The crowds will not go all the way back down to pre-Amazon levels, but my prediction is hiking's popularity will recede somewhat.

[Malachai Constant]

In the 50's hiking was not cool unless you were Scandinavian, German, or a hunter. By the 60's it started to become cool leading to a Boom in the 70's. By the 80's it was becoming uncool in the same way groovy was passé. 90's grundge types were urban indoor types in spite of flannel shirts. The oughts started to make hiking more cool which accelerated with the Great Recession because it was cheap. I wish it would become un cool again

[BigBrunyon]

Instagram needs CANCEL ALL ACCOUNTS that post outdoor pics that make it look fun!!! ONLY graphic posts about people starving and freezing death, attacked by bears, and getting their hands blown off by stove explodes!!!

[schifferj]

[Foist]

That is a bummer, but there are so many places to go that are just as beautiful as those famous trails, if not more so. Try the Pacific Northwest Trail instead of the PCT; circumnavigate Glacier Peak instead of Rainier; and so on. Just ignore the FOMO (fear of missing out) because you're not missing out.

[Kim Brown]

[Jack's Mom]

I remember when you did NOT need a permit to hike the Enchants - and dogs were ok.