Not a thing that exists against POC. You'd have to go real deep to find someone who is actually racist.

Yes, usually I think the need for permits is over the top, but this place absolutely needs it to keep traffic down.

After the lottery is settled, keep an eye on Recreation.gov for the dates you'd like to go. There is a set amount that they release every Monday morning I believe. That's how I was able to land a Colchuck Permit. I have seen a Core Permit available that way as well, but I couldn't go that day.

I've only ever gotten lucky with the Colchuck Lake permit, never was able to secure the Core Permit. On this particular day when I took this photo, I did the entire thing as a day hike. Logged about 25 miles that day is including all of the side trips I did, including the one up to Gnome Tarn for this photo.

I'd guess you'd have the best chances of attempting to get permits in late September. It starts cooling off by then, but everyone will be trying to land the first week of October to try to see the Larches change, so I could see that being the least visited time during the permit season.

If you try to secure a Colchuck permit, it's not that bad of a situation. Obviously you'd rather be up in the Core zone, but Colchuck Lake is beautiful, and you can dayhike up Asgaard Pass with a light pack instead of a full backpacking kit. Unfortunately this means you have to descend Asgaard the same day, which is an absolute killer on the knees, but it's still an incredible trip with Colchuck as a base camp.

Funny; I live in the PNW just south of Olympic, but I visit the Mojave 6-10 times per year. A beautiful place in its own right. You could just explore the west coast of the US for your entire life and be fulfilled.