Before you spend 14 days, spend 2 days. That way if something doesn't work as expected you are not of a mindset to go onward anyway and take risks you aren't ready for. Gear testing should be done at home, then on short trips, then for the long haul. You will also be testing yourself - I've been working up to longer trips for two years, dayhiking and overnighting and then two nights...

You will spend less money in the long run if you are willing to make the effort to learn first, then buy. Being fitted and trying on several packs with weight in them will inform you as to what's comfortable for you at this point. If you have specific areas you want to overnight in, find out what weather patterns and average temps tend to be, and get a sleeping bag that's 1) accurately rated and 2) rated for temps ten degrees below what your anticipated lows will be. When it comes to sleeping bags and backpacks, you need the right ones, not the cheapest, though you can certainly find sales easily enough on many good brands.

Mark Verber's website (http://www.verber.com/mark/outdoors/gear/index.html) is a great place to start for suggestions on cheap gear. Backpackgeartest and other websites and forums like this one also help you sort out manufacturer's claims from reality.

You will probably find that permits are not as much of a problem as it might appear. Mt Charleston appears to have self registration and a small parking fee. Most locations will expect you to register at a kiosk or at a ranger station and adhere to specific rules, but that's usually easy to do. In areas like the national parks and other areas with habituated bears, you will find that the rules become very strict and the trails have daily quotas. Yosemite's permitting system is overwhelmed with people trying to get permits six months in advance.

http://www.hikinglasvegas.com/fast1.html