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  1. #61
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    Quote Originally Posted by madgoat View Post
    As of 8:30 EST (Feb 13th), this notice is now up on the backcountry camping page at GSMNP's website....

    As of February 13, 2013, reservations and permits will be required for all overnight stays in the backcountry.To make reservations, please visit the backcountry reservation website.(This website is scheduled to be available by 5:00 p.m. EST on February 13, 2013.)

    It says "closed for maintenance"

    The system must be on coffee break.

  2. #62

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    Quote Originally Posted by jbwood5 View Post
    It says "closed for maintenance"

    The system must be on coffee break.
    It's working now. I just went through all the motions of applying for a thru-hiker permit and it's working. I did not however click submit. Don't know what it does after that.
    "Hiking is as close to God as you can get without going to Church." - BobbyJo Sargent aka milkman Sometimes it's nice to take a long walk in THE FOG.

  3. #63
    Registered User Majortrauma's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rasty View Post
    Amazing! The Park Service could muck up a McDonald's franchise in Times Square.
    Good one Rasty!

  4. #64
    Registered User ChinMusic's Avatar
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    I played around with the system on my laptop and it kept freezing up. I got frustrated and quit. Glad I am not sitting at Fontana on my thru at this point.
    Fear ridges that are depicted as flat lines on a profile map.

  5. #65
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    If it was me, I'd carry an extra $20 bill with me thru the Smokies, and pay the Ranger on the trail. The automated permit system is sure to have problems thru the season.

  6. #66
    Registered User Sir-Packs-Alot's Avatar
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    The site to get a permit for 2013 A.T. Thru-Hikers has just gone live TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2013. GO TO : https://smokiespermits.nps.gov/index...PermitTypeID=2

  7. #67
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sir-Packs-Alot View Post
    The site to get a permit for 2013 A.T. Thru-Hikers has just gone live TODAY FEBRUARY 13, 2013. GO TO : https://smokiespermits.nps.gov/index...PermitTypeID=2
    It's working now. I see that Russell Field is already booked to capacity on March 11. The word is out!

  8. #68
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    I think I found a glitch. Trying to plan a dryrun of my BMT trip through the GSMNP, I tried to enter Smokemont Campground in my iteinerary and it would not accept it (not a "numbered" site). The system will not allow you to skip a night, so you can't complete the reservation.
    -PapaG

  9. #69

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    Quote Originally Posted by PapaGarrettP View Post
    I think I found a glitch. Trying to plan a dryrun of my BMT trip through the GSMNP, I tried to enter Smokemont Campground in my iteinerary and it would not accept it (not a "numbered" site). The system will not allow you to skip a night, so you can't complete the reservation.
    -PapaG
    You could try splitting the reservation by running two windows. Type fast though!

    Or try calling in this case.
    "Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
    Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
    Call for his whisky
    He can call for his tea
    Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
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  10. #70

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    Quote Originally Posted by Alligator View Post
    You could try splitting the reservation by running two windows. Type fast though!

    Or try calling in this case.
    +10 on that advise!!!

  11. #71
    Registered User Karma13's Avatar
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    So, help me understand. For a thru, I'm estimating I'll actually hit the park on March 26. But I'm printing out the permit weeks before that, before I go to Springer. Aren't I better off adding in a few 'fudge' days in case of weather or injury or general slowness? For example, should I put down April 1 as the date I'll enter the park?

    Would there be an issue if I actually got to the park a few days earlier than my permit date, do you think?

  12. #72

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    You can't make a reservation more than 30 days in advance.

    The last day before you leave for GA print out your permit from home. You have 30 days plus 8 days to get thru the park, or 38 days total. Thats more than enough time.

    This is the approach recommended by the ATC.

  13. #73
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    As Max Patch said, it is not that hard.

    This is frankly awesome, actually.

    I wish other NP units had this set up.
    Paul "Mags" Magnanti
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  14. #74
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by atmilkman View Post
    It's working now. I just went through all the motions of applying for a thru-hiker permit and it's working. I did not however click submit. Don't know what it does after that.
    It forwards you to another website which is a government site to take credit card payments, sort of like the government equivalent to paypal.

    Quote Originally Posted by ChinMusic View Post
    I played around with the system on my laptop and it kept freezing up. I got frustrated and quit. Glad I am not sitting at Fontana on my thru at this point.
    It may be due to the forwarding to another website. I cannot remember if it is supposed to open a new window or a pop-up or something like that.

    Quote Originally Posted by PapaGarrettP View Post
    I think I found a glitch. Trying to plan a dryrun of my BMT trip through the GSMNP, I tried to enter Smokemont Campground in my iteinerary and it would not accept it (not a "numbered" site). The system will not allow you to skip a night, so you can't complete the reservation.
    -PapaG
    That is a problem. It probably won't be fixed and will force you to split the reservation. You could just throw in a reservation for some back country site in the area that you don't actually plan to use so you maintain continuity of the permit and thus keep yourself at the $20 max.

    Quote Originally Posted by Alligator View Post
    You could try splitting the reservation by running two windows. Type fast though!

    Or try calling in this case.
    You would have to split the reservation into to separate ones for now. This is one of the issues we presented to the Park Service and it is to their advantage to not fix it. If you have one reservation and it goes over 5 nights, then you cap out at $20. But if you want to spend a night off the trail, then your first reservation may be for $20 and your second would be for about $8. So they get 40% more revenue this way than to allow the night out of the back country in their system. So I would recommend getting a reservation at campsite 50 and just not stay there that night. Make a separate reservation for a campsite at Smokemont that way you keep continuity of nights on the permit and keep yourself at the $20 cap.
    SGT Rock
    http://hikinghq.net

    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
    -----------------------------------------

    NO SNIVELING

  15. #75

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    Quote Originally Posted by ChinMusic View Post
    I played around with the system on my laptop and it kept freezing up. I got frustrated and quit. Glad I am not sitting at Fontana on my thru at this point.
    It could be all the WhiteBlazers and members of other websites playing around with the system to see if it works and overloading its capacity.

  16. #76
    Registered User ChinMusic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by max patch View Post
    It could be all the WhiteBlazers and members of other websites playing around with the system to see if it works and overloading its capacity.
    Fair enough. I will prob do as others have mentioned. I will do the permit thing and print it out before heading to GA. If for some reason I don't make it to the Smokies in time (injury?) I guess I will have just blown $20.
    Fear ridges that are depicted as flat lines on a profile map.

  17. #77

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    Quote Originally Posted by SGT Rock View Post
    ...

    That is a problem. It probably won't be fixed and will force you to split the reservation. You could just throw in a reservation for some back country site in the area that you don't actually plan to use so you maintain continuity of the permit and thus keep yourself at the $20 max.


    You would have to split the reservation into to separate ones for now. This is one of the issues we presented to the Park Service and it is to their advantage to not fix it. If you have one reservation and it goes over 5 nights, then you cap out at $20. But if you want to spend a night off the trail, then your first reservation may be for $20 and your second would be for about $8. So they get 40% more revenue this way than to allow the night out of the back country in their system. So I would recommend getting a reservation at campsite 50 and just not stay there that night. Make a separate reservation for a campsite at Smokemont that way you keep continuity of nights on the permit and keep yourself at the $20 cap.
    That would work too, and I empathize with someone considering doing that. It is a front country site though which strictly speaking is outside the system and an interuption.

    It's only $4 though, not $8. If you are planning a max 7 day trip, but need a front country site, you'd have only been backcountry 6 days, $24. If paying for all days, that would be 20% extra if you book the permit as needed in the system.

    Probably won't get fixed.
    "Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
    Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
    Call for his whisky
    He can call for his tea
    Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
    Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan

    Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.

  18. #78
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    I'm still concerned about people booking and not showing up (some people don't care about the $20, or even more). When I looked at the general permit site earlier (not the trhu hiker site), I saw several of the shelters already full for certain days in March. Could it be that 4 or 5 in a group booked all the reservations available to keep the shelter to themselves (not counting thru hikers)? If that is the case, imagine their surprise when 20 or more thru hiukers show up. LOL
    I guess I really don't care other than it looks like a possible flaw since there is no incentive to cancel and no mention of a no show penalty.

    It seems strange that sites would fill so fast in March. I can see that May and June will be really tough for those beginning backpackers who want shelter space on the AT in the Smokies.

  19. #79
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alligator View Post
    That would work too, and I empathize with someone considering doing that. It is a front country site though which strictly speaking is outside the system and an interuption.

    It's only $4 though, not $8. If you are planning a max 7 day trip, but need a front country site, you'd have only been backcountry 6 days, $24. If paying for all days, that would be 20% extra if you book the permit as needed in the system.

    Probably won't get fixed.
    You are right. I forgot to subtract the day spent off the trail.
    SGT Rock
    http://hikinghq.net

    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
    -----------------------------------------

    NO SNIVELING

  20. #80

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    I got onto the first page of their site and found these words:

    "To keep the AT Thru-Hiker experience as unrestricted as possible, it is important that Thru-Hikers are diligent in following all regulations..."

    If this is a new policy that did not exist before, then isn't this new fee a restriction? How does that jibe with an "unrestricted" "Thru-Hiker experience," even one "as unrestricted as possible"???

    Logical???


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