Four years for a JMT permit sounds rough. I waited three seasons for a Mount Whitney day hike permit and it messed with my summer plans. I totally feel your pain about missing spontaneous trips. The lottery system makes it hard to stay flexible.

In older apartment wiring, the National Electrical Code SPECIFICALLY forbids separate ground rods for individual units. It can create a dangerous voltage difference between grounds. I watched a handyman install one and it caused feedback in the neighbor's stereo system. Your best legal move is to insist on a GFCI outlet at that location, which is a code accepted workaround. Sometimes showing the manager the actual code article 250 gets their attention. For real safety, the building needs to update its entire grounding electrode system.