Keeping pack safe on greyhound

[partinj]

Hi need your help on this one i have a external frame backpack the size is 39" Tall
14" Deep and 24" Wide now i can get make it less wide by puting some stuff in the pack it self. I Leave on my Thur-Hike feb 3 2009 what can i put my pack in to keep it safe under the greyhound. Iwas thinking aboude a bike box also been looking for a use rool around suitecase i seen them big enough to hold the the pack. but new one are like $75.00 that a little much for one time use i plan on just geting rid of
when i get to gainesville ga. i have rode greyhound on long ride before but not with my big pack where l live their is no cab or any thing the onle good thing is they have what call the kelly bus that go to washington dc will drop me off at union train st.
i can walk around to greyhound from their it 3 blocks from union back to the pack
what have you guys done to keep your pack safe
:eek:

[MOWGLI]

what have you guys done to keep your pack safe
:eek:

I have simply watched the baggage storage area like a hawk every time the bus stopped. It's a PITA, but it's about the only way to ensure that your bag doesn't walk.

[Feral Bill]

I have never seen a pack even close to that large. What are you carrying? With an average or smaller pack you could just pop it in the inside rack.

[partinj]

Less then fourty pounds that with anything incl food and water this is ave for External frame packs i have this pack for about 6 years fit like a glove can't even tell i am carry any weight.

[makoboy]

Ive flown with my pack before using an army surplus gear duffle i got for $25. The pack fits in it well, even with extra stuff, and the heavy canvas keeps the straps and buckles from getting caught on anything during handling. Additionally the canvas duffle is probably inexpensive enough to get left behind in GA. That being said, I would still watch like a hawk every time that storage area is opened just to make sure it doesnt dissapear.

[nyushka42]

Took the greyhound with my pack from Chicago to Gainsville 3 years ago, took it on the bus with me & stuffed it in the overhead. Great mystery of life that it actually fit in there, hicking poles & all.

[OldStormcrow]

I've seen people bring steamer trunks onto the bus with them in the past, but I'm not sure what the rules are these days. Every time I have ridden the Greydog Express, the bus has been only about 50% capacity, so most people just sit their stuff in the seat next to them. You don't want to have to hang around the bus for the duration of a 2 hour lay-over, either, watching your stuff.

[Sly]

I have simply watched the baggage storage area like a hawk every time the bus stopped. It's a PITA, but it's about the only way to ensure that your bag doesn't walk.

I did that every time I took a bus, which was often. One time, with a few hour stop over in Denver, I was ready to take my pack until we boarded the next bus. The handler assured me my pack would be on the bus. Yeah but, wrong bus. I had to wait 24 hours in Alamosa, CO to get it back, thankfully.

Now the rules have changed. Once you put your pack under the bus that's it, you don't touch it until your ride is over. With any luck, it will be there with you when you arrive, especially if you change buses. On a trip in '07, I dimwittedly didn't know about the new rules until it was announced on the bus and had loosely latched half the maps and guidebooks to the CDT on the outside of my pack. They were NOT there when I arrived in MT. I had to seriously scramble to get new guides and maps. Not the easiest thing to do for the CDT and expensive. Even though they had my name and address in the contents and I called every stop along the way, I never did get them back.

If there's ever a next time, I'll try to take my pack on the bus with me.

[Lilred]

I took my pack on the bus with me and put it on the seat next to me. Thankfully, the bus wasn't full. It was an internal pack though, so don't know how an external would go over. I just wore it on the bus when I got on.

You could hit some Good Wills and see if you can find a big duffle bag for cheap.

[snaplok]

Hi need your help on this one i have a external frame backpack the size is 39" Tall
14" Deep and 24" Wide now i can get make it less wide by puting some stuff in the pack it self. I Leave on my Thur-Hike feb 3 2009 what can i put my pack in to keep it safe under the greyhound. Iwas thinking aboude a bike box also been looking for a use rool around suitecase i seen them big enough to hold the the pack. but new one are like $75.00 that a little much for one time use i plan on just geting rid of
when i get to gainesville ga. i have rode greyhound on long ride before but not with my big pack where l live their is no cab or any thing the onle good thing is they have what call the kelly bus that go to washington dc will drop me off at union train st.
i can walk around to greyhound from their it 3 blocks from union back to the pack
what have you guys done to keep your pack safe
:eek:

I've taken greyhound as far as orlando from nyc and have seen a lot of bags go missing, or the bus has taken off with then in one instance. I always use a carryon and heard the the worse looking luggage are near theft proof. Get yourself a really old army duffel, if it looks too big to carry then it should stay put. Same thing for airlines, but its always best to keep your bag with you at all times.

[Dogwood]

My packs R not that big, but I do travel Greyhound with backpacks. If I had the option and do
re mi and all things being equal I would rather take a plane or train. But, if U have decided on Greyhound here R some tips: Take your loaded pack down to Lowes or Home Depot and find the plastic shrink wrap they keep outside at the building materials entrance. Shrink wrap your pack, but leave the lifting strap on top of the pack exposed so baggage handlers have something to grap your pack by. Cost nothing but some time. Most Greyhound baggage handlers have no idea of how to safely and properly pick up a pack. If U leave shoulder straps or hipbelts flying free they could get damaged. Little pieces of gear or fragile and expensive electronics stored on the outside of your pack invite loss or damage. I took a Greyhound from Atlantic City to Atlanta in 06 for my AT thru-hike. I expected to have lots of room on the bus for my pack to sit on the seat next to me and for me(6'4") to stretch out. Mistake. Bus was always filled to or near capacity. If U R leaving from Maryand U will probably have several bus transfers. Make sure your pack has multiple tags showing your name, contact ph #, and where the pack is ultimately going(your end destination on Greyhound). I find it's a good practice to keep an eye on your pack when transfering buses and baggage to make sure it is safely transfered onto the next leg of your journey. It's your bag. And, don't fret people ride buses with luggage all the time. Enjoy the beginning of the journey!

[Highway Man]

I took greyhound to Blacksburg in early 90s, had my luggage misplaced by their employees at a transfer place around Roanoke. Luckily I got I back in a few days. I kept my eyes on my luggage as many times as possible through the entire trips to be sure it was loaded onto the correct buses. At last, it still happened. And I was freezed to death on the air conditioned bus as I was not wearing that much clothes in Agust. Never again unless absolutely necessary!

To me, Amtrak Crescent Line costs $121 from Newark, NJ to Gainesville, GA. I'm leaving on April 29. I now tend not to believe I will have those hassles based on the people's previous experiences here. Wish me luck.

[George]

put your pack in very heavy garbage bag and tape it up or 2 layers of a standard bag, about 75 cents either way

[HikerRanky]

For those of you that want to continue on the AMTRAK portion of this, I have split off those messages into another thread. (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=44878)

[superman]

I box my gear up and send it UPS no matter how I travel.

[theinfamousj]

I took Greyhound this past August from NC to FL. One thing I noticed was that I was responsible for taking my bag from one bus to another at a connection. I don't know if this is a new policy (it was my first time riding the bus) but based on previous comments in this thread I'm guessing that schlepping your own luggage is new.

Oh, and almost all of my busses were near full capacity. Food for thought.

With no luggage tags on my pack (and no real expensive supplies inside because I was going to visit Grandma and brought clothes and a tooth brush), my pack stayed with me the entire time.

Of course it could help that I can do the helpless young southern gal eye-batting thing.