2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Are you a seasoned hiker, or just starting out? Let us know your questions or experience with the backcountry permit process.

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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by sbosecker »

teapot57 wrote: Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:59 pm Fingers crossed for you, Scott. I hope you hear back soon.
HA! Thanks!

I don't know if this is the proper Forum but...

A Wilderness Camping Permit carries with it a Going To The Sun Road Pass.

If there are two people on the Camping Permit does that give the Permit Holders two Going to the Sun Road Passes?

Say I received a Wilderness Camping Permit, with two people on the permit, that went from Jackson Glacier Overlook to Lake McDonald Lodge. Normally my buddy and I would have two cars and one would be positioned at the Lake McDonald Lodge parking lot and we'd drive the other to the Jackson Glacier Overlook Trailhead to start the backpack.

Is that going to be possible with the new Sun Road Pass requirement?

Best regards,

Scott
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by teapot57 »

If there are two people on the Camping Permit does that give the Permit Holders two Going to the Sun Road Passes?
Good question. If I remember right, you provide the Rangers with the license plate numbers of the cars you will have parked at the trailhead, and they list them on the permit. I would have each person take a photo of the permit as proof to show the Rangers when you enter the Park amd I think that would suffice.

But I also heard that they may not allow parking at the trailheads this summer, so there’s that potential complication . . .
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by PeteE »

teapot57 wrote: Sat Apr 10, 2021 11:05 am
But I also heard that they may not allow parking at the trailheads this summer, so there’s that potential complication . . .
I believe that IS the "big question".
My reading of the "entry ticket" issue is that your "accommodation receipt" e.g hotel, chalet, backpacking trip, or receipt for some advance purchase activity is your "entry ticket". So I would believe that if multiple people are on a backpacking itinerary, then each person should make a copy to use as their "entry ticket".
A related question might be, "What do backpackers do about trips that last more than one week?"
IF they have a vehicle(s) parked in the park, will they get fined or towed?
Still a lot of unanswered questions in my mind.

pete :wink:
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by NDjason »

:arrow: :arrow: :arrow: THE WAIT IS OVER!!! :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:

I got the email notification today that my application was successfully processed! Early September start:

ENTER - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD)
COS - COSLEY LAKE Length 9.00, Elevation; Up 929 | Down 1393
GLH - GLENNS HEAD Length 4.60, Elevation; Up 20 | Down 0
GLH - GLENNS HEA Length 0.00, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 0
ELF - ELIZ LK, FT Length 8.30, Elevation; Up 290 | Down 260
HEL - HELEN LAKE Segment; Length 4.30, Elevation; Up 185 | Down 0
GAB - GABLE CREEK Length 7.80, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 377
EXIT - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD) Length 6.00, Elevation; Up 1059 | Down 396

TOTALS;
Trip length 40.00 miles
Elevation up 2,483 feet
Elevation down 2,426 feet

Basically exactly what I applied for, but in reverse. We decided to try to a low key, relaxing trip this year instead of pushing mileage and altitude.

Sue Z - looks like maybe we will have a chance to meet up!
~ jason
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by McKee80 »

NDjason wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:45 am
ENTER - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD)
COS - COSLEY LAKE Length 9.00, Elevation; Up 929 | Down 1393
GLH - GLENNS HEAD Length 4.60, Elevation; Up 20 | Down 0
GLH - GLENNS HEA Length 0.00, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 0
ELF - ELIZ LK, FT Length 8.30, Elevation; Up 290 | Down 260
HEL - HELEN LAKE Segment; Length 4.30, Elevation; Up 185 | Down 0
GAB - GABLE CREEK Length 7.80, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 377
EXIT - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD) Length 6.00, Elevation; Up 1059 | Down 396

Sue Z - looks like maybe we will have a chance to meet up!
Awesome. Make sure to hit Margaret Lake on the off day. And we really liked walking along the shore of Cosley heading towards Glenn’s (at least for a while)
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by PeteE »

NDjason wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:45 am :arrow: :arrow: :arrow: THE WAIT IS OVER!!! :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:

I got the email notification today that my application was successfully processed! Early September start:

ENTER - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD)
COS - COSLEY LAKE Length 9.00, Elevation; Up 929 | Down 1393
GLH - GLENNS HEAD Length 4.60, Elevation; Up 20 | Down 0
GLH - GLENNS HEA Length 0.00, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 0
ELF - ELIZ LK, FT Length 8.30, Elevation; Up 290 | Down 260
HEL - HELEN LAKE Segment; Length 4.30, Elevation; Up 185 | Down 0
GAB - GABLE CREEK Length 7.80, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 377
EXIT - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD) Length 6.00, Elevation; Up 1059 | Down 396

TOTALS;
Trip length 40.00 miles
Elevation up 2,483 feet
Elevation down 2,426 feet

Basically exactly what I applied for, but in reverse. We decided to try to a low key, relaxing trip this year instead of pushing mileage and altitude.

Sue Z - looks like maybe we will have a chance to meet up!
Jason is a really GOOD guy Sue. I hope y'all can hook up too. :)
Well done Jason. That is a super nice itinerary. Plenty of time to relax after getting to the next camp.
No stressful days...unless it rains on the day you hike out. Then that trail up to CHF turns into a nasty mix of horse/mule sh1t and mud. 8)
You doing this with your Dad? He'll really love this trip. Have fun!!

pete :wink:
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"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by zozeppelin »

NDjason wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:45 am :arrow: :arrow: :arrow: THE WAIT IS OVER!!! :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:

I got the email notification today that my application was successfully processed! Early September start:

ENTER - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD)
COS - COSLEY LAKE Length 9.00, Elevation; Up 929 | Down 1393
GLH - GLENNS HEAD Length 4.60, Elevation; Up 20 | Down 0
GLH - GLENNS HEA Length 0.00, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 0
ELF - ELIZ LK, FT Length 8.30, Elevation; Up 290 | Down 260
HEL - HELEN LAKE Segment; Length 4.30, Elevation; Up 185 | Down 0
GAB - GABLE CREEK Length 7.80, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 377
EXIT - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD) Length 6.00, Elevation; Up 1059 | Down 396

TOTALS;
Trip length 40.00 miles
Elevation up 2,483 feet
Elevation down 2,426 feet

Basically exactly what I applied for, but in reverse. We decided to try to a low key, relaxing trip this year instead of pushing mileage and altitude.

Sue Z - looks like maybe we will have a chance to meet up!
Well done! :arrow:
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by paul »

NDjason wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:45 am :arrow: :arrow: :arrow: THE WAIT IS OVER!!! :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:

I got the email notification today that my application was successfully processed! Early September start:

ENTER - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD)
COS - COSLEY LAKE Length 9.00, Elevation; Up 929 | Down 1393
GLH - GLENNS HEAD Length 4.60, Elevation; Up 20 | Down 0
GLH - GLENNS HEA Length 0.00, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 0
ELF - ELIZ LK, FT Length 8.30, Elevation; Up 290 | Down 260
HEL - HELEN LAKE Segment; Length 4.30, Elevation; Up 185 | Down 0
GAB - GABLE CREEK Length 7.80, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 377
EXIT - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD) Length 6.00, Elevation; Up 1059 | Down 396

TOTALS;
Trip length 40.00 miles
Elevation up 2,483 feet
Elevation down 2,426 feet

Basically exactly what I applied for, but in reverse. We decided to try to a low key, relaxing trip this year instead of pushing mileage and altitude.

Sue Z - looks like maybe we will have a chance to meet up!
That's good news Jason, glad you got it. I think it helped that you gave them a 2 month window for your start and end dates. I only gave a couple of weeks for various reasons. I still haven't heard back but I'm getting skeptical that I will get something good now.
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by teapot57 »

Awesome, Jason! What a great itinerary. No better place to spend two nights than GLH. Will you be bringing the fishing pole?
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by NDjason »

Thanks!

McKee - yep, we will definitely get to Margaret again. And maybe try to visit Ipasha or Sue as well!

Pete - the trail from Chief in will be the section I've never hiked before, so I'll cross my fingers for a dry day for sure. Definitely looking forward to some quieter and more relaxing days!

Paul - keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Teapot - the fishing pole will definitely be coming again! Even if I don't catch anything, I love fishing in the mountains!
~ jason
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by sbosecker »

NDjason wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:45 am :arrow: :arrow: :arrow: THE WAIT IS OVER!!! :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:

I got the email notification today that my application was successfully processed! Early September start:

ENTER - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD)
COS - COSLEY LAKE Length 9.00, Elevation; Up 929 | Down 1393
GLH - GLENNS HEAD Length 4.60, Elevation; Up 20 | Down 0
GLH - GLENNS HEA Length 0.00, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 0
ELF - ELIZ LK, FT Length 8.30, Elevation; Up 290 | Down 260
HEL - HELEN LAKE Segment; Length 4.30, Elevation; Up 185 | Down 0
GAB - GABLE CREEK Length 7.80, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 377
EXIT - CHIEF MOUNTAIN (TRAILHEAD) Length 6.00, Elevation; Up 1059 | Down 396

TOTALS;
Trip length 40.00 miles
Elevation up 2,483 feet
Elevation down 2,426 feet

Basically exactly what I applied for, but in reverse. We decided to try to a low key, relaxing trip this year instead of pushing mileage and altitude.
Congratulations!

I saw in another post that you hadn't hiked in from Chief Mountain before. I've done this route a few times and you drop down pretty good from the trailhead. Towards the end of that downhill there's some nice views of the Belly River. Then there's a lot of open meadows and you're hiking towards the mountains. Not everyone likes this sort of thing but I do. In 2017 I saw a Martin on the this part of the trail and then it climbed into a nearby tree so you never know when you'll see wildlife of some sort. As Pete noted, it can be muddy - particularly in the early season - and it does seem to be popular with horse parties. Coming back it is a bit surprising how the elevation gain to the Trailhead seems worse than it is. HA!

2 of the itineraries of the 4 I had requested this year started at Chief Mountain.

I haven't heard back from Glacier yet but I've been watching the advanced reservation page but it looks like I have struck out on all my requests this year. That would be a first and I've been doing this once or twice each summer since 2003. Well, there was last year which didn't work out. HA!

Granted I didn't give them any flexibility to change the campsites in my requests but my window was from August 15th to September 9th so I thought SOMETHING would work out.

After the initial March 17th sort is over, I'll try to decide if I want to try make some meatloaf from the leftovers. There are a few "campsites on a stick" (Cracker Lake, Otokomi Lake, Lincoln Lake, etc.) that I haven't been to and perhaps I could do some of those when the smoke clears.

Best regards,

Scott
Last edited by sbosecker on Fri Apr 16, 2021 7:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by wilcon »

Another successful permit! Mid-September.

Hopefully the old man can handle the it. I'll probably try going up to Boulder Peak on the short day. I think the only real difference is I got Brown Pass instead of Boulder Pass. I'll save you all some mosquitos if there are any left when I get there.

ENTER - BOWMAN LAKE FOOT (AKAK,BOW,QU) (TRAILHEAD)
BOW - BOWMAN LK, HD Length 7.10, Elevation; Up 533 | Down 528
FRA - FRANCIS Length 8.80, Elevation; Up 2220 | Down 995
HOL - HOLE IN WALL Length 4.40, Elevation; Up 1385 | Down 260
BRO - BROWN PASS Length 2.10, Elevation; Up 711 | Down 1109
BOW - BOWMAN LK, HD Length 6.50, Elevation; Up 0 | Down 2220
EXIT - BOWMAN LAKE FOOT (AKAK,BOW,QU) (TRAILHEAD) Length 7.10, Elevation; Up 528 | Down 533

TOTALS;
Trip length 36.00 miles
Elevation up 5,377 feet
Elevation down 5,645 feet
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by sbosecker »

Received the following email this morning:

Dear Backcountry Permit Applicant,
We have processed your Advance Reservation Application and were unable to confirm any of your itinerary choices.


So it's official.

Since I haven't got one of these emails when it was correct (Over the years I've gotten a couple of the above but they were wrong and I called them and got it fixed) I haven't really paid attention to the aftermath. Does the Backcountry Office announce when they've chewed thru all the March 17th applications?

Best regards,

Scott
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by cdsmith379 »

sbosecker wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 7:40 pm Received the following email this morning:

Dear Backcountry Permit Applicant,
We have processed your Advance Reservation Application and were unable to confirm any of your itinerary choices.


So it's official.

Since I haven't got one of these emails when it was correct (Over the years I've gotten a couple of the above but they were wrong and I called them and got it fixed) I haven't really paid attention to the aftermath. Does the Backcountry Office announce when they've chewed thru all the March 17th applications?

Best regards,

Scott
As I understand it when the link to the campsite map of advance reservation availability goes live is usually a good indicator they have completed all the March 17th applications. We chatters have it bookmarked.
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Re: 2021 Backcountry Permit Applications: Date for submittal now March 17

Post by sbosecker »

cdsmith379 wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 9:24 am
As I understand it when the link to the campsite map of advance reservation availability goes live is usually a good indicator they have completed all the March 17th applications. We chatters have it bookmarked.
cdsmith379,

I have it bookmarked as well.

I've sent in another request for a currently available early September 3-day. While doable - if a bit long legs in & out - as is, that would be a placeholder (if awarded) to be modified upon picking up the permit.

On another related topic...
Does anyone here know if a Backcountry Office would issue a permit like the following:

Sept 1 - Cracker Lake
Sept 2 - Cracker Lake
Sept 3 - Poia Lake
Sept 4 - Poia Lake

So... spend a couple of nights at Cracker Lake; hike out on Sept 3 and drive down the road to the Poia Lake Trailhead and spend a couple of nights at Poia Lake.

Anyone ever done anything like that or know if such a thing is allowed?

Best regards,

Scott
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