Congrats, amg. So checking regularly DOES work!

Here's a tip for people who want to keep checking for permits:
Create a bookmark (or "favorite" depending on the browser) to hit the recreation.gov site for exactly the date you want. Then, anytime you are on your computer, you can click that one spot, and see if a slot has come up.

Now, setting up a link to hit the date you want and the permit (overnight or day hike) you need can be tricky. You have to take the following text and modify it for the date you want.

Here is for a Day Hike permit. Note the date at the end:
http://www.recreation.gov/permits//r/ent...date=07/01/2012

And here is for the overnight permit:
http://www.recreation.gov/permits//r/ent...date=07/31/2012

For the permit you want, right-click the appropriate link above, and then select Copy Link Location (Firefox) or Copy Shortcut (Internet Explorer). Then paste it into your browser's URL line, change the date at the end to the day you need, then press Enter. The Rec.gov site should appear, with the permit type and date displayed. Do not click "Find Permits", or you will lose the data on the URL line. Instead, click Bookmarks, Bookmark this page (in Firefox), or Favorites, Add to Favorites (in Internet Explorer).

You could even set the link as your home page, so every time you start your browser, you could check for permits.

Then, clicking the bookmark will take you directly to the Rec.gov page for the desired date, and all you then do is click "Find Permits". If one is available, you will see it right away.

Good luck!