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View Full Version : AT in the Smokeys...will it be crowded?



ncmtns
03-29-2009, 18:37
Three of us are going from Clingmans to Fontana next Sun thru Thur on the AT. Should we expect the shelters to be crowded? If so that would mean I could hang my hammock.. yes?

Lone Wolf
03-29-2009, 18:38
yup

SGT Rock
03-29-2009, 18:44
It will be crowded.

You are supposed to have reservations for the shelters and sleep in them since you are not thru-hikers.

There are rangers out there this year apparently. So don't break the rules or risk a fine.

That said, if you have a reservation and the shelter is full of thru-hikers, you can probably still hang your hammock and not get in trouble.

sliderule
03-29-2009, 18:44
If so that would mean I could hang my hammock.. yes?

Only thruhikers are allowed to camp outside the shelters. And only when there is no space in the shelter.

Slo-go'en
03-29-2009, 19:45
No way of telling for sure until you get there, but I think it won't be too crowded. Judging from the trailjournals I read today, the 1st week of March starters are just getting into/through the Smokies now. The big bubble is forming in GA now and it will be 2-3 weeks before they get up that way.

Big Dawg
03-29-2009, 20:08
It will be crowded.

You are supposed to have reservations for the shelters and sleep in them since you are not thru-hikers.

There are rangers out there this year apparently. So don't break the rules or risk a fine.

That said, if you have a reservation and the shelter is full of thru-hikers, you can probably still hang your hammock and not get in trouble.

ncmtns,,, I knew the trail police would be givin you some detail after LW's short answer,,, ya know, the rules - regulations - rangers discussion!:rolleyes: hehehe,, just pokin fun Rock:D

Lone Wolf
03-29-2009, 20:10
Three of us are going from Clingmans to Fontana next Sun thru Thur on the AT. Should we expect the shelters to be crowded? If so that would mean I could hang my hammock.. yes?

get the reservations. if you show up at the shelter and it's full, 3 thru-hikers will have to get out and give y'all the space

SGT Rock
03-29-2009, 20:14
Staggered spring breaks across the country. This is one of the peak times for the AT, not just because of thru-hikers. The spring breakers get the reservations. I already got denied for one shelter on the AT near your time frame.

And the report of a real law enforcement ranger citing guys in the Smokies just a few days ago came from a credible source. Normally you only see ridge runners.

mtnkngxt
03-29-2009, 21:34
Heard from another credible source that yes in fact there is a gun/badge toting national forest service officer acting as a trail runner/regulations enforcer. He apparently lost his sense of humor somewhere around Blood Mountain. If found please return to ranger station or closest USPS store. Postage is covered. My source who for arguments sake is a NFS SWAT officer. Yes there is such a thing. Big things they are going to tag you for are stealth camping which they consider the equivelant of squatting and trespassing, and use and possession of contraband ie under age drinking and medicinal marijuana ( make sure you have your prescription ):D

So do yourself and others a favor this year and avoid causing to much comotion in the smokies. If we behave they won't have a reason to have officers waiting up and down the trail to bother us.

SGT Rock
03-29-2009, 21:39
$50 fine is what I hear the guys got for stealthing Cammerer

Slo-go'en
03-29-2009, 21:44
Staggered spring breaks across the country. This is one of the peak times for the AT, not just because of thru-hikers. .

Oh yea, I keep forgetting about the spring breakers. And since thier being told not to go to Mexico, camping might be an option for many of them.

SGT Rock
03-29-2009, 21:45
We are still waiting for the annual event - The Spring Break College Student Rescue.

Usually one group of them up there somewhere that is unprepared for the weather. Usually cotton clothing, heavy loads, and no maps.

Egads
03-29-2009, 21:51
$50 fine is what I hear the guys got for stealthing Cammerer

Cheaper than most hotels with that view

SGT Rock
03-29-2009, 21:53
I reckon. But hotels have lots of other cool things going like running water and heat/AC. Plus you don't want to lose your privileges in the Smokies as a local. I've heard that can happen.

Wise Old Owl
03-29-2009, 22:49
Sgt,

$50 fine is what I hear the guys got for stealthing Cammerer

Smokies…

Originally Posted by flyfisher
Stupid act:

Paying $192 for me, my wife, and son to stay at a White Mountains hut, in a cramped room with 9 strangers, half of whom snored. All the while, we had hammocks and tarps and food with us that we had carried up Lincoln and Laffyette...

The only advantage of staying was being able to complain about it! ?#!

Within a half mile of the hut was a beautiful forest where hammock camping would have been perfectly legal and a lot quieter.


I cut and copied the above from different threads that are clearly beyond the ability of the software. My thoughts are if you are steath camping then we need to get way off trail to avoid detection and have three or four tarps that are "Snow white" " Knife edge or White Mountain Rocks " "Deep Woods camo" and "Port Clinton shingles" what are your thoughts??

sliderule
03-30-2009, 10:43
Heard from another credible source that yes in fact there is a gun/badge toting national forest service officer acting as a trail runner/regulations enforcer.

So much for that "credible source." You won't likely find any National Forest Service officers working in a National Park. Forest Service officers work for the Department of Agriculture. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park (not National Forest) is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior.

humunuku
03-30-2009, 12:14
i got me a shelter reservation on Easter night - I'm hoping the shelter will be full of thru's and I'll stay in a tent

Blissful
03-30-2009, 13:32
We were there this time of year and the shelters were loaded, esp on weekends. We hiked with a group of ten thrus too. Get the reservations (if you still can, that is).

Blissful
03-30-2009, 13:35
i got me a shelter reservation on Easter night - I'm hoping the shelter will be full of thru's and I'll stay in a tent


Well the ridge runner we saw on our trip had a clipboard of those who had reservations. So unless you can prove you're a thru hiker, you're in the shelter for better or for worse. They were much more lenient with thru hikers and the tenting option, I must say, even when the shelters weren't totally full.

SGT Rock
03-30-2009, 19:46
Make sure you get a thru-hiker ID card from Neels Gap. I get one from Pirate every year.

Lone Wolf
03-30-2009, 20:14
Make sure you get a thru-hiker ID card from Neels Gap. I get one from Pirate every year.

plus a summit date card for the big K

SGT Rock
03-30-2009, 20:16
Does Pirate sell those too?

didymus128
04-03-2009, 21:45
wait, i knew you had to get a permit, but a reservation just to head to the smokies? I guess i have just been very lucky. And where are you supposed to get a reservation? 3 weeks ago me and 2 friends got to fontana dam at about 3 am and entered the park without a permit, then camped at campsites both nights. So the rules are that you must have a reservation at a shelter and you can't sleep anywhere but a shelter unless you are a thru hiker? Man, last October I set up my tent directly under the tower at Clingman's dome...been in the park more than a dozen times and never reserved anything. Have I just been getting lucky?

Dogwood
04-04-2009, 01:11
First week of April in GSMNP on the AT, YEAH, you are going to run into quite a few hikers, and possibly a ranger/ridgerunner or two. They are out there! Call GSMNP and inquire about space in various shelters. They will be able to tell you if the shelter is full and how many are permitted to stay there on what dates. You should all be on a permit unless you want to risk getting fined. As a thru-hiker I knew how many were permitted to stay at the shelter. If I got to the shelter and all the slots were taken and I knew I had a permit for one of those slots I would ask to see everyone's permit and inquire if they were thru-hiking. Why should someone be put out when they followed the rules when someone else may not have. If you have your permit fine. I'm not quoting law here, but I don't think anyone will mind if you camp outside in a hammock. Set up your shelter as late as possible.