hickey wrote:I asked (via facebook).... Here is what the Park Service says:
Hello Tom, Day use wilderness permits are still required on both State and Federal lands. Nothing has changed including the price "FREE". Thanks and hope you have a wonderful hike at Mt. San Jacinto SP.
So, nothing has changed.
Yes, but that's for the State Park. At issue is the Forest Service which manages federal lands.
The Forest Service has had no enforcement mechanism in place other than volunteer rangers, rangers who could not issue citations. The volunteers don't like it especially when people walk right on by and ignore you, which I have seen numerous times. There's a certain amount of ill will generated by the day hike permit requirement. Perhaps the Forest Service is just bowing to reality, i.e. that there's no way they can enforce the permit rule and it just generates public ill will when they do. But I speculate.
Hopefully things won't get overrun. Overnight permits are still required, although the rules get broken there too with people camping in meadows or camping in sites they couldn't get a permit for but decided to camp there anyway.
HJ