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  1. #41

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    I am very excited. The most visited park in the country! Mice! Ridge Runners (which is a beer up here!). I am going to sleep the heck out of these shelters.
    When my hiking partner told me about sleeping in shelters in the GSMNP I ignored her. What ridiculousness. Of course I can sleep in a tent, that is what one does when camping. However, National Parks are pretty great and I am willing to follow their rules if it helps preserve their existence.
    7 days to the trail!

  2. #42
    Registered User mad4scrapping's Avatar
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    08-30-2009
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    richmond,virginia
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    I went through this same angst last year before my section hike in the GSMNP. We went in April in full thru-hiking season. Most of the shelters were not full. I brought a tent and tented a couple of nights. There were nice tent sites at most of the shelters. There was a ridge runner with us one of the nights and I slept in the shelter that night. However, even though the shelter was not full, several other people, including both thru-hikers and weekenders, tented and he did not say one word to them. My advice is to bring a tent and use it if you want to.
    Lead me to the long green tunnel.

  3. #43

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    I do not care for mice either. Earlier this month I section hiked between Fontanna Dam and Newfournd Gap and stayed in shelters all three nights. Perhaps due to the cold weather (teens and twenties most nights) or the burning fire, did not see any mice. So perhaps planning your trip during cooler temperatures may help.

  4. #44
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    04-30-2010
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    Charlotte, NC
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    44
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    Quote Originally Posted by jburgasser View Post
    It is a lot easier to just FOLLOW THE RULES. Here is a radical idea: If you don't agree with the rules, then skip the Smokies!!
    I consider myself an environmentalist, but I am not a fan of arbitrary rules, particularly when they prevent enjoyment of public property I pay taxes on. I shouldn't have to skip the Smokies because some bureaucrats who have probably never backpacked in their lives decided I should have to sleep in some shelter because they perceive it to be better for the environment. How is my tent anymore of a threat to the environment because I'm ending at Davenport Gap than if I had an extra couple of days to hike 50 more miles past that? How is my tent anymore of a threat to the environment if there are no people in the shelter it's next to? I'm no rebel, but I have no problem breaking a pointless rule if I can get away with it. Want to protect the environment? Have Ridge runners crack down on nimrods who burn plastics.

  5. #45
    Registered User
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    05-21-2008
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    Richmond, VA
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    I section hiked the Smokies last Sept. We made reservations and stayed where we had made them- but virtually every other hiker we met in the park didn't. I am sure the Ridge Runners and Rangers are more vigilant in April and May, but we never saw one anywhere in the Park except the tourist spots. The shelter upgrades have made it easier to live within the rules. Also- mice don't particularly bother me, but we didn't see any. We did run into 11 bears and 2 boars on the trail, and many more running through the woods. Bottom line- the park is worth the hassle- it was an amazing trip. You just may want to pick your season if you are sectioning. Oh, and yes I carried a tarp- always.

  6. #46
    Registered User TROUT BUM's Avatar
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    03-30-2012
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    mandeville La.
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    The shelter life sounds real nice! lol.

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