[ctrager]

Yes, I should make it clear that the freedom on the PCT, in the Sierra, is limited to people who have a permit. You can't just show up and camp overnight; you need to get a permit in advance and the quantity of permits is limited to protect the area and the experience.

I don't know the White Mountains but here's a place that I've been that is going to start requiring permits: https://aspenjournalism.org/maroon-bells-snowmass-wilderness.... I was there in 2018. I remember hiking out on a Friday, about a two hour hike, and passing maybe 150 backpackers hiking in to camp overnight during those two hours.