The Required Documents...

All overnight use of the King Range Wilderness requires the possession of a free, self-issue permit from the Bureau of Land Management' (BLM).

These permits can be obtained either from a BLM office or from the brown metal boxes which are placed at each trailhead. When you arrive at a trailhead, the metal box is located near the sign with the big map of the King Range. Open the top of the box and there should be permits and pens inside. Fill one out with your name, destination, route, date, and vehicle license plate number.

"WHOA whoa. Why do you want my plate number?" We use the plate numbers to keep track of whose vehicles are in the parking lot and for how long... if your car is there a day after you were supposed to come out, there may be some cause for alarm. We may start asking other backpackers if they've seen you. We may send someone into the backcountry to look for you. It all depends on the circumstances. Having the plate number, though, gives us somewhere to start if somebody turns up missing.

The permit doesn't cost anything and you don't even have to talk to a ranger in order to get it.

We do look at them, though! Each one. Once your trip is done and we don't see your car sitting in the parking lot anymore, these become essential for our tracking of how popular the wilderness is.

Each permit is examined for the number of hikers and how many days they were in the wilderness. These are recorded and a total number of user-days is calculated. These calculations along with other observatiosn--such as those I make each year regarding campsite conditions--allow BLM to determine if the wilderness is being "loved to death", is unpopular and therefore should have less tax money spent on it, or is "just right".

Two staffed BLM offices have permits also, and can answer questions. One is the King Range Project Office, only twenty minutes' drive from Shelter Cove, at 768 Shelter Cove Road, in Whitethorn (M-F 8-4:30). The other is the BLM's Arcata Field Office, at 1695 Heindon Road in Arcata, CA.

Fill out your permit! The wilderness thanks you!