I'll grab a lighter in GA.
you can take a lighter on a plane.....
From many past experiences if you had asked me 12 months ago I'd say don't overly concern yourself about checking unlabeled dried foods. Recently though I was detained at one major AP - the SunPort in Albuquerque for 25 mins by very hardline militarized TSA upper management who deliberately staunchly threatened me with making me missing my flight because of opened(not in original packaging, self made dried food in clear Ziplocs). There was a definite negative stereotyping of having a backpack. I looked fine. Another clean cut young professional person in line with me with a backpack had the same experience. After inappropriately roughly grabbing my backpack by the shoulder strap instead of the grab loop almost fully tearing the shoulder strap from the body of the pack, they made me, actually they, emptied my entire backpack and then inappropriately jammed the contents back in. The stop included a thorough examination of my entire food bag choices asking me about the food in the Ziplocs despite every Ziploc having a post it note in it clearly stating what was in each Ziploc. One might say they were looking for drugs because that AP can have that issue but they said nothing, nada, zero about my large bag of vitamins and supplements in a larger clear Ziploc that weren't and couldn't be in their original packaging and easily mistaken for illicit drug contraband also in the food bag.
Two TSA Agents, to the TSA's credit, said what I might do in the future to avoid such stops. One was checking these food items. At my suggestion, and to which they agreed, leaving food in the original packaging as much as possible and opened only once flights are completed was another solution.
By far far and away its best to cooperate with TSA than attempt to simply bitch about the agency or its policies or exhibit an attitude. However, I'm not gonna let them abuse that authority or my kit either even if they make me miss a flight out of misplaced authoritarian spiteful retribution!
Another option, which I regularly employ, is mailing ahead trail food, pocket knife, fuel, etc. Since my backpack is my luggage - I'm living and surviving totally out of it - both on trail and very often on biz trips, I much prefer always having it personally on me. I prefer also to have some food and drink to eat that I brought not what they offer that I additionally have to purchase.
Next time at the AP, Amtrak, or Ghound Station watch the baggage handlers mismanaging backpacks. Its customary! And, consider some of us have UL kits.
I wrap my straps around the back of the pack and clip them as tight as possible. Belt and chest. They help secure the poles to the sides of the pack too. The poles are the only things outside the pack. I tape up the pointy ends of the hiking poles so they don't snag someone else's luggage. The trick is to minimize the number of places something can snag the pack. Or, just put it in a cheap duffle bag.
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I wasn't checking my pack. I had no known current TSA no no's. TSA told me they hadn't flagged me for anything else. It was the opened actually Ziploc-ed, rolled, and rubber banded self made food. I was carrying it going through the TSA checkpt. Nothing was on the outside of the ULA CDT. Nor did I have trekking poles.I do as you suggested when putting my pack through the x-ray and "sniffer" testing equipment. It was the food and only the food or so TSA stated. In hindsight, I was acting antsy, nervous like, fidgety in the que which is a tell for those trying to hide something which I think TSA noticed. I was acting that way because I was really spent from pushing it on strenuous terrain compunded by too much coffee and getting to the AP later than hoped.
Yup.
I'm back in US after a couple months in the hole.
On my return, where coming from it's a bit more stringent than US. (Flights to US meet tsa requirements). A second screening is done at gate before departure. All carry on are hand searched/emptied and you are patted down. This is in addition to first x-ray, etc to get onto concourse.
They took $12 of rechargeable AA batteries (not Li, hybrid NiMH in protective storage case. Of course my 20,000 mAh Li phone charger battery was fine .
Seriously questioned my little zebralight h52 ,but eventually a supervisor let it go.
And, took a paper clip.
A ....paper....clip.
It was bent open to use to extract sim card holder from phone to change sim between foreign and US.
"Not allowed"
My unbent paperclips....were fine.
Thank goodness they missed the little pocket with my tiny eyeglass screwdriver kit.
Always interesting.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 03-01-2018 at 04:54.
Other countries are definitely different. I was just reading a hiker blog about how they caught a red eye from Portland Oregon to Atlanta and got on board with tent stakes, a pocket knife, and trekking poles. Couple years back.
How's the MARTA? Any tips and tricks for navigating that
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My blunt response is going to sound rude, it isn't meant to be...
How is this not a no brainer? Buy your plane ticket good sir lol
22 hours on a train is gunna be real not fun lol
Ron Brown is a great shuttle driver if you are still looking
Trail Miles: 5,265.4
AT Map 1: ✔ | 13-21'
Sheltowee Trace: ✔ | 20-23'
Pinhoti Trail: ✔ | 23-24'
Foothills Trail: ✔ | 24'
BMT: 168.3
CDT: 210.9
GSMNP900: 134.7
AT Map 2: 279.4
i subscribe to the " getting there is half the fun" philosophy. As long as not in hurry, travel by all kinds of options can be.....interesting. some people like booking ocean passage on freighters (yep, it's a thang)
i took the train to gainesville 10 years in a row. had a single sleeper. it's the way to go
Well, bent paper clips are the number one weapon terrorists employ according to... always on top of it Homeland Security and FBI...to clean their finger nails?
TSA will take my small Swiss Army knife yet allow me to carry on sharp spiked thick metal tent stakes. I call them my stabbing stakes. Why doesnt TSA see stakes and the rope I'm carrying as weapons or taking a steel tipped boot or shoe off as a clubbing weapon?
News flash. A Southwest flight was just jacked. Witnesses said the hi jacker threatened the crew and facilitated the take over with a steel tipped alligator skin cowboy boot. After much threatening of boycotting air travel from those in FL, TX, LOAuthorities have now added such boots to the banned caary on a flight list. Authorities did say such boots can be checked...for a $50 checked bag fee.
Looks like yer done but....
I like the train. You have your pack with you, no checked luggage issues or mysteries (or risking lost irreplaceable gear ). The fuel is a solvable issue, but one more thing to deal with on arrival.
Part of travel is seeing the country too... trains can provide that sight seeing experience that further helps.
I also like the train as a pre-trip winddown. Air travel is hectic and stressful. Even if you get there a hair faster there's the mental rush of it and then you're dumped on the trail.
If time isn't ultra tight... the train makes for a good transition mentally to sit back and soak in the transition.
Not that it's monster enough for jet lag... but flying is a wham bam here you are thing.
The train or bus is a process or transition that leaves me feeling ready to roll.
Trust me...
I work in the firearms industry and have heard horror stories from people I work with and there experiences with TSA.
Luckily they typically don't make you take out and show off all your interesting goodies to the public anymore.
And yeah I always thought it was interesting that I can't bring my tiny little folder on but a long screw driver is cool.
Huh.
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It's easy. You'll come up the escalators into the domestic terminal. The station is at the end of the building, you'll make a few turns to get there.
If you need to make a stop somewhere for e.g. fuel, buy a "One Day Breeze Ticket" from either a ticket machine or the ticket window. Otherwise, just get a single use ticket.
North Springs is at the north end of the Red Line. The Gold Line also serves the Airport but goes to Doraville.
I spent nearly 24 hours on a train from Chicago to New Orleans in December (several hours late) and thankfully I had a sleeper car. It would have been misery without it. I think that it is worth taking a long distance Amtrak train just to have the experience while we still have long distance trains (they lose boatloads of money) but I wouldn't use one if I was on a schedule. As things stood, I barely got home before 9pm on Christmas Eve ... several hours later than I expected to.
For short hauls, Amtrak works better. I've used Amtrak to get from San Francisco/Oakland to Yosemite. I'd do that for hiking, but not a 24 hour trip.