If you ended up mailing your pack to the Hiker Hostel, did you use UPS, FedEx, or USPS, and how much did it cost?

I'm faced with possibly having to fly now and I really don't want to take my pack on the plane, however, I just put in for a quote on UPS and it ended up stating it would cost like $150.00! WHOA!!! I'm in Michigan by the way. Thanks.

Michele, when in doubt go greyhound. It takes forever, but you always meet interesting people on the bus. I checked yesterday and advance tickets Columbus, OH to Atlanta are only $70. Can't be much more from MI.

You can get a one-way flight from Detroit to Atlanta for $127.00 (this includes tax). I'm just nervous about checking my pack. And let's just say I refuse to ride buses. Had too many bad bad bad experiences.

I haven't had any problems with my pack arriving, although I was sweating it at Atl Airport waiting for it to show up on the carousel.

I have had issues with hiking poles. Make sure they are inside the pack.
I spent two weeks getting those back from the airline after they wrapped them at check in.

Get a large duffle to put your pack and all your gear in, poles etc. Depending on the stove (gas,canster), I'd mail it ahead. If it's only an alcohol stove you should be fine. Without fuel, of course. Once you get to GA just mail it home along with your street clothes.

Get a large duffle to put your pack and all your gear in, poles etc. Depending on the stove (gas,canster), I'd mail it ahead. If it's only an alcohol stove you should be fine. Without fuel, of course. Once you get to GA just mail it home along with your street clothes.

Are you saying to check it then? Didn't I read somewhere that someone used a duffle bag and then wrapped the whole thing w/this packing tape or something (to keep people out of it). That sounds like a really good idea. Hadn't thought of that yet.

I haven't flown in forever, but I think they still need to be able to go through your bags. If something is all taped out, I'm sure it will set off a couple alarms and get the dogs out.

I think as long as you put everything in a large duffle you should be fine. There are a couple threads here where people that work for different airlines posted on what could and could be go with you on a plane.

I flew to ATL and checked my pack. To prepare it, I made sure everything was closed. Then I put my trekking poles in the compression panel and then shrink-wrapped the whole thing. It arrived intact. Now I had a direct flight, if I had to connect, I might have done it differently. BTW- I mailed my food ahead to the Hiker Hostel In Dahlonega. Just to make sure that the weight was ok.
To mail 5 days of food was $5.60.
I carried on my pack on the way home on Greyhound. I had my summer gear by then and my pack was about 33% smaller. Had no problems on Greyhound excpet the LONG LONG ride- 47 hours from DWG to Denver. I take that back. When I was in Phili- undercover cops surrounded a pickpocket w/ guns drawn in the station. That's the only problem I had on Greyhound.

For ship weight example: (Detroit to Atlanta) UPS next day air for a pack that is 15x15x36 and weighs 35 lbs at a value of $1000.00, it is $128.12 about right. 2nd day is $67 to $75 and ground is about $27.
Just depends on how far in advance you are shipping it. These rates seem about right. We (my company) ship about 500 pkgs/ day and these rates are about the same as we would get. Make sure you list the Hiker Hostel as a commercial business, they are after all a business and it would be a lower rate.

You can get a real suitcase at a Goodwill or Salvation Army store for a few bucks. Get a big hardsided one, pack your gear in it, and check it with the arilines knowing nothing will get crushed. Leave it at the Hiker Hostel. Last time I was there Josh and Leigh had a bunch of them they were going to bring to a Goodwill.

Everybody wins. Goodwill gets to sell the suitcase twice, and you get to rent an suitcase for 5 bucks

If you do mail it do not send it parcel post as it isn't trackable. Keep the box under the Priority Mail size restrictions(and NO FUEL), get delivery confirmation AND insure it for its full value(do this IN PERSON at your P.O.) It will still be expensive, just not as bad as UPS.

Checking it with the airline is probably your best bet. If your stove/fuel bottle is not new make sure to really air it out good(especially with "gasoline" stoves). If TSA smells/detects fuel they will not allow it onboard. Make sure they can easily inspect the contents. Do not duct tape the cover or duffle the pack is in. If yours is a non-stop flight there is much less chance of your baggage getting delayed or lost. BTW, most lost bags get delivered to their owners wherever they are actually staying within 24 hours(they have a courier deliver it). Have a great hike!

Are you saying to check it then? Didn't I read somewhere that someone used a duffle bag and then wrapped the whole thing w/this packing tape or something (to keep people out of it). That sounds like a really good idea. Hadn't thought of that yet.

Yeah check it, but you can't wrap it to keep people out of it, certain baggage is searched.

Yeah check it, but you can't wrap it to get people out of it, certain baggage is searched.

yeah, my flight was a year ago. You need to check to see what they need to look at before hand.
I bought my fuel when I got to the Hiker Hostel and mailed my food. The shrink-wrap was intact on my pack. Doesn't mean it will be for you, regulations change and my "number" just wasn't up for a full search.
My Karma was that a couple of years ago, my ID and my ticket didn't match (my given name vs. my nickname). I was faced down by a national guardsman w/ an M-16 and an attitude. Sorry, but in 2003, I was the whitest looking white boy anyone had ever seen but they still held me at gunpoint (I was even a registered Republican at that time!).
Make sure your tcket matches your ID, don't try to carry any banned items and MOST LIKELY, your pack won't be searched. Don't mean it won't but your chances are better. Hell, I even had a hard saw in my pack and they didn't search it.
Good luck! with however you decide to get your pack there.

(I was even a registered Republican at that time!).

So is Jack Abramoff.:eek: :D

So is Jack Abramoff.:eek: :D
I change my registration based on where I live and feel I can make a differnence.
I am an "Illusive little SH$!!":D

Abramoff.... God help him.

Have mailed a few packs that I have sold...empty. Cost is usually 10-20 empty....one factor aside from weight that also calculates into cost is the size of the box that you will need to pack it in.

Osprey I know used to, and i believe still does sell a travel bag meant specifically for backpacks to be put into, in order to help protect them from airplane travel...good luck!

IN 2005 the airlines had complimentary big plastic bags. I used one for my pack going to Atlanta and one for the return trip, and had no problem. Came 2006 -- no complimentary big plastic bags. I checked my naked pack through to Atlanta. I got to Atlanta. Most of my pack got to Atlanta. Some American Airlines employee is enjoying the tent he/she ripped off the pack frame. I like the Salvation Army suitcase idea. Bob

That sounds way too high. Find someone who ships UPS from work and ask them to get a rate. The shipping stores charge big $$.

A duffle works fine for the plane. My daughter took her pack back to college with her and I was worried about all the straps getting tangled in the conveyors etc and damage.

We stuck it in a mail sack courtesy of the French Post Office. (She shipped stuff from France before). The only snag was getting the airline claim tag to stick. We cut a small hole in it and looped the tag through. Anything that covers it.

Ship the fuel or buy it there.

You might try FedEx Ground. I have found them to be the cheapest shipper of bulky items. The downside is that you might have to go a little out of your way to get to their drop-off point.

If you decide to ship, be sure to check with a local FedEx/Kinkos for a quote. I just shipped a telescope drive from Tucson to Atlanta for about $30.00, UPS was a good bit higher. It was in a 26x24x12 box and weighed 36 lbs with a value of $475. This was shipped FedEx ground, so its going to take about a week to get to Atlanta.

I like the Goodwill suitcase idea, but there is one problem. The TSA has to be able to get into the bag, so you either have to leave it unlocked, or use a TSA approved lock. Hardside suitcases don't have a way to put one of the newer TSA approved locks on them, so that would mean leaving it unlocked. A duffel or a softsided suitcase would let you add an approved lock for some theft protection.

Has anyone looked at excess value insurance for checked baggage? Most airlines pay a ridiciously low price per pound for lost luggage.

Have mailed a few packs that I have sold...empty. Cost is usually 10-20 empty....one factor aside from weight that also calculates into cost is the size of the box that you will need to pack it in....

Ditto I have shipped a few backpacks as well and the oversize is what kills you - Length plus Girth.

It will probably be cheaper to ship 2 containers. One with the pack and clothes - It will be larger and lighter and then the second - as small a box(but still sturdy) as you can find and pack everything else in it.

I would use UPS Ground and as stated but I would also check USPS priority - It is competiive at some weights. With UPS, if you can deliver to a business address, you will not get hit with the residential or rural surcharges. UPS insures automatically to $100 and you have tracking.

But overall, just take the pack on the plane - It is not a huge ordeal, having flow international and dometic numerous times with my packs, including having it sit in Anchorage baggage claim for a full day and night before I finally arrived (don't ask), I have found loud yakking women on cellphones passengers to be far more of a nuisance than taking my pack. :sun

usual ranking of shippers by cost.

UPS
FedEx
Post Office ( gets more expensive than the above as package gets bigger)

1.Less time, more money. Take your pick.
2.Ability to trace costs, but is worth is.
3.Never thought of GreyHound.

Using the hostel at Dahlonega would probably be money well spent. You get a good nights rest, they recieve your stuff. they pick you up from last MARTA stop and deliver you to the trail head. One stop shopping with a reputable source.

Miles of Smiles
Tom

Thanks, Frosty.
I fly to Atlanta from Toronto( $299.) on March 18th. I will get a cheap suitcase from Salvation Army and leave it in Ga to be recycled.

Sandalwood

I have never mailed my pack, but have flown commercial airlines with my pack as checked baggage fully packed (no fuel or water) on 4 separate occasions: from NH 2x to Phoenix (hiking the Canyon), 1x Las Vegas (the Canyon from the north rim) and 1x Reno (the Tahoe Rim Trail - hightly recommended!). Maybe I'm just lucky so far, but have never had a problem. I do use a duffle bag and put the filled pack in there. Since my pack is not HUGE (Vapor Trail), I did not have a hard time finding an appropriate (and cheap) duffle. On 3 of the flights I did have 1 stop, changed planes, and still things went well with the pack coming off the conveyor in good shape, with all its contents. I will be starting at the approach trail this spring with a friend and we both plan to have our packs travel on the same flight with us. Good luck to you (and to us this next time). Pong

Hi i send mind to the hiker hostel by USPS cost me 57.93 i think all three of the big one UPS FEDX USPS like to rip you off. I when to usps web site and put the weight and size in it said 15.95 to mail it but when i got to the post office they said that was a sir charge because of it size. I told thenm that was not what the web site said but like talking to the wall. but they were the lease exp. of the three. well to end the story my pack has made ok to the hiker hostel guess so i ins it for 1000.00:jump

If you can keep the height and width x 2 (girth), plus the length under 108" a 30 lbs box should cost $28.30 to send Priority Mail from Canton, MI. $14.65 for Parcel Post.

Add $11.75 for $1000 insurance.

Michele,

Friend, comrade.

You do your own thing, but I wouldn't sweat checking my gear on a non-stop flight from Detroit to Atlanta.

I've accumulated close to 3 million actual air miles in the last twenty years of business travel (one third was international). Unlike many biz travelers, I rarely used carry-on luggage. Only once (!) in that time span did my luggage not arrive at the same time as I did. The airline delivered it directly to me two hours later.

The actual statistic; you have a 1/2% chance of having to report something wrong with how your bags were handled. 80% of those reports are satisfied in 48 hours, 99% in 120 hours. Peanuts! When it's a direct flight you have even less to worry about. I would suggest that you ask the airline for one of those big plastic bags to stuff your entire backpack into. I'll forego the detailed insurance pitch, since you're more interested in getting to Springer with all your gear intact.

If you fly, I say check it.

p.s. Five, four, three, two....posts will follow with nightmarish tales of amateur travelers who have lost their luggage (IMO, one is no longer an amateur flyer when one can quote Rule 240, when to use it, how to use it and the difference in the Rule from one carrier to the next). :D Statistically, unaccustomed travelers do not fair as well as frequent travelers. It's unfortunate, but many times it's some fault of their own.

Checking your bag isn't really that big a deal, as long as it's in a duffel. I've flown out west that way 6 times now and never had a problem. If you're nervous about something breaking you can always wrap your pack with bubble wrap and then put it inside the duffel. Overkill, but I've been known to be paranoid myself.:D

Well Buckles, I guess the big question is, are you a member of the Mile High Club? ;)

Well folks....as usual, things always change. Another person from this area and I got a killer deal on a rental car/hotel, so now we're just driving to Atlanta, so no worries about our packs getting lost.

Some really really great info, though, so thanks for all the expertise out there. I'm sure this thread will help a lot of others too.

Hey Buckles...I must have bad luck w/flying then, because as we both know, I've flown a fraction of a percentage as much as you, and I've had my luggage lost 3 TIMES!! Once, it never showed up....ever. I guess you could say I'm a little paranoid, especially w/something like my entire home! :)

Pack + small pack accessories / down bag + = $114.00 with $400.00 insurance on both boxs, from southern CA.

It's unfortunate, but many times it's some fault of their own.How does the airline know to only lose baggage of "amateur" travelers? Do you have a sticker on your bags that says, "Professional traveler" or something?

I think the fact that you have never had luggage misrouted or damaged is due more to luck than your status as a professional traveler.

And I definately do not think that it is the fault of the traveler when baggage is mishandled.