Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Whitney Permit Lottery Application

Okay, I've filled out the permit lottery application at least 4 times before, but I still have these questions:

Why do they ask if the trip is guided or not? Does the answer affect your chances? If I'm a Scoutmaster taking Boy Scouts, is that a "guided" trip?

And as long as I'm looking at it, I notice they also ask if this trip will be on foot. Are people allowed to ride horses or mules into the Whitney Zone? I've never seen them there.

No, it is not a guided trip if you are doing this with scouts. If I and nine other people PAID you to lead us, then it is a guided.


Yes. Into the Whitney Zone? Need a permit. People do not take horses or mules due to logistical concerns, trailer parking, and too many hikers during the peak season. Some equestrians prefer to take their horses via the WPNRT to the Portal and back during the off-season.

Okay, thanks, so I'm not a guide. But I'm still curious as to why they ask if it's a guided trip. Do professional guides have to go through the lottery like the rest of us?

The question "Is this a GUIDED trip?" on the permit application is it not?

But isn't the Boy Scouts a "youth group?"

Guides and outfitters in the national forests are regulated under a "special use authorization" and must be licensed by the state.

Search on "form FS-2700-3f" for the federal application form.
State guide application:
www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/pdffiles/fg992.pdf

Requirements include fees, licenses, bonding, medical certifications and liability insurance. Quotas or service days are controlled by the "authorizations". The total guide quota authorized on the main trail has recently been zero.

Dale B. Dalrymple