Rules while thru hiking thru the smokies

[yotarunner77]

I have read that you must reserve a spot in each shelter you want to use and can't tent anywhere but at the shelters. I have also read that thru hikers do not have to reserve if they can prove that they are indeed a true thru hiker. And I hear other things too, can I get a straightforward answer on what the official rules are? And I see on the home page of whiteblaze that some of the shelters are closed due to bears...will they still be closed during my early march thru hike????

[burger]

From the AT Companion:

Park regulations require that you stay in a shelter. While other backpackers must make reservations to use backcountry shelters, thru-hikers are exempt from this regulation, and, from Mar 15 to Jun 15, four spaces at each A.T. shelter are reserved for thru-hikers. If the shelter is occupied by reservation and four thru-hikers, however, additional thru-hikers should tent close by and use the bear cables. Because only thru-hikers are permitted to tent-camp at shelters, the burden is on them to make room inside shelters for others who have reserved space.

The Park Service defines a "thru-hiker" as someone who is beginning their hike at least 50 miles south of Fontana Dam and finishing at least 50 miles north of Davenport Gap.

[yotarunner77]

From the AT Companion:


The Park Service defines a "thru-hiker" as someone who is beginning their hike at least 50 miles south of Fontana Dam and finishing at least 50 miles north of Davenport Gap.

how do you prove that??? pictures a journal....or do you just go thru like normal and only need proof if you get asked by a ranger or something

[Storm]

All you need to do is fill out a form at Fontana Dam before entering the Park. Put one part of the form in the box and carry the other with you. The rangers will take your word that you are thru hiking but you need the form.