>>1561195Yes, rangers will check your permit, though only in high traffic areas like National parks, I've only had my permit checked in the Sierras so far
The permit system is to stop the bubble from becoming to dense and seriously impacting the trail. If there were no permit system 2500 people would all be starting in the week around April 15rh and the impact on the trail would be massively larger than the impact of the same 2500 people spread out over a month.
Also the permit is 100% free and simple to get you sperg, just open a bunch of tabs until you get a favourable place in queue on the days they open permit applications, if you miss a good start date check back every day, people drop their permits and you'll get an alright one eventually.
