JERRY_SANCHEZ Posted March 9, 2006 Posted March 9, 2006 Alpine Lakes permit area may grow By The Associated Press LEAVENWORTH — The U.S. Forest Service is considering expanding the permit area for the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area, a popular hiking and climbing region in north-central Washington. The wilderness area in the Cascade Range west of Wenatchee will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year. In response to a growing number of visitors, the Forest Service began requiring permits in 1987 for the Enchantment Lakes. The permit area was expanded in 1996 to include Colchuck, Stuart, Eightmile and Caroline lakes. Permits are required from June 15 through Oct. 15. Next year, the ranger district may begin the public process to expand the permit area to address overcrowding at nearby Mount Stuart, Ingalls Lake and Headlight Creek Basin, all in Chelan County. "That area is way overused on weekends," said Lisa Therrell, wilderness manager for the Wenatchee River Ranger District. The existing permit areas receive about 100,000 day and overnight visitors each year, Therrell said. The permits allow just 60 people per night within the permit area. Day use is unlimited, but visitors are required to get a self-issuing permit at the trailheads. Officials with the ranger district began randomly opening applications Monday for overnight permits for this summer. About 1,000 applications had been received, of which about 600 will be accepted. Requests came from as far away as Poland and Liechtenstein, as well as across the United States and Canada. Some applicants wrote "please, please, please!" on the application, while others promised to respect the natural area if their application was picked. Some, like an applicant from Alabama, draw pictures on their envelopes for attention. "That has no effect" on their chances, Therrell said. "But we do enjoy them." Applications received after Monday have little chance of getting a permit. Three-fourths of the wilderness permits are issued in the reservation lottery. The remaining one-fourth are issued each morning at the ranger district office during the summer. Costs remain at $3 per person per day. Quote
Geek_the_Greek Posted March 9, 2006 Posted March 9, 2006 F'ing Liechtensteiniens are taking over. Quote
Weekend_Climberz Posted March 9, 2006 Posted March 9, 2006 Gotta get those peaks bagged before June 15th. That's what that tells me. Quote
DirtyHarry Posted March 9, 2006 Posted March 9, 2006 Yeah. What in the Enchantments can not be climbed in a day by a reasonably fast party? Quote
Alpinfox Posted March 9, 2006 Posted March 9, 2006 Yeah. What in the Enchantments can not be climbed in a day by a reasonably fast party? Some things you just want to take the extra time to savor and enjoy. Quote
Weekend_Climberz Posted March 9, 2006 Posted March 9, 2006 Yeah. What in the Enchantments can not be climbed in a day by a reasonably fast party? Some things you just want to take the extra time to savor and enjoy. I think Oly was the first to point out that drinking piss was a trend that is now sweeping the nation. This is about permits. Quote
DirtyHarry Posted March 9, 2006 Posted March 9, 2006 who is even out there to enforce? That is irrelevent. Climbers should ALWAYS respect ALL government regulations, lest their actions reflect poorly on the climbing community as a whole. Furthermore, climbers in the northwest should make an EXTRA special effort to observe the regulations and permit requirement in the Enchantments and Alpine Lakes permit area, and ONLY bivy there after having applied for and received confirmed confirmation (in triplicate) that their application has been received and a permit has been issued. Quote
Dechristo Posted March 9, 2006 Posted March 9, 2006 ...only then may you wipe your ass with it. Quote
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