I received the following e-mail today from the NPS public affairs reguarding changes for 2013 for transiting the Great Smokey Mt National Park along the Appalachian trail as an AT thru-hiker.
Quote
"There will be a $20 flat fee for AT Thru hikers. They currently have 7 days to get through the park. That will not change.
AT thru hikers will not have to specify at which shelters they will stay on which nights.
The ATC is currently working to get updated information to AT guidebook publishers." Unquote
I guess this means that if you are in the class of 2013 you will at some point like the NOC or Fontana call the park or use a computer, have your credit card ready, pay the 20 bucks. You pick your start date and they will give you 7 days to get through the park. They do state on the NPS web page that if you get into bad weather in the park they will adjust your dates.
The gsmnp web page under the left side management section has most of this information, they said they will update the"frequently asked questions" to reflect the info for thru-hikers soon.