Remember when the Enchantments permit lottery was just a postcard?

Back in 2012, you mailed a postcard to the ranger station in Leavenworth with your dates. I got a spot my first try. Now the online system gets over 20,000 applications for maybe 700 core zone permits. The change happened around 2015 when they went digital. It's way more fair, but it feels like winning the actual lottery now. Miss the simple hope of checking your mailbox. Anyone else get in under the old system and never win the new one?

3 comments

3 Comments

norag5524d agoMost Upvoted

My sister mailed in for the Enchantments in 2014 and got a late September slot. The whole thing felt manageable, like a local secret. Now everything good gets discovered online and the scale just breaks. I see it with restaurant reservations and concert tickets too. The process is technically open to more people, but it makes the goal feel impossible for a normal person.

michael89524d ago

I feel that just trying to buy a lightbulb online now.

noahbaker2d ago

Seriously though, is getting a hiking permit supposed to be some deep life moment? It's just signing up for a walk in the woods. The old way was a hassle you got lucky with.