I'm curious, after you were denied permits that first day, did you try and get permits for the following day at that time? They let you get permits up to 24 hours in advance at the walk-in window. It's strange that you weren't able to get it three days in a row, that was either a really busy holiday weekend or you had some really bad luck.

As much as I hate permits for the outdoors, I think the system they are currently using is about as fair as it can be. 1/3 of the permits are available by reservation, so at least it gives out of towners a chance of being able to plan a trip without risk. 1/3 is also available by lottery, so anybody has a chance of winning. And the last 1/3 is walk-in so people who can't plan months ahead still have a small chance of being able to do the trip. I've thought about how it can be improved and I can't really think of any better way of doing it that would be fair to everyone.