Dropped $80 on a permit app for a route I could hike free from the other side
Back in 2019 I paid $80 to enter the lottery for a high route out of Bishop, thinking it was the only way in. Spent two seasons refreshing that calendar every morning, and a buddy showed me last fall that there is a totally legal trailhead an hour up the road that barely gets used. Turns out I could have walked that same ridge years ago for the price of gas. If you are staring down a permit fee for a route you have not hiked yet, ask around about the other approaches first. What routes have you bagged from the back side that nobody talks about?