Amtrak -- The Way to Go

[Jester2000]

In another thread, a poster made the following comment:

. . . i check on a slepping room they want way to much for it $222.00 plus you rail fare
that is just to much for a 12 hour ride total would be $317.00 and they wonder why no one ride the
trail thank for your help

I presume he meant "ride the train" rather than "ride the trail," but I wanted to post not only that people do, in fact, ride the train (I took the train out west to hike the PCT), but why hikers should ride a train rather than fly.

Here are the advantages:
First of all, train travel is a nice, relaxing way to decompress from your regular life before you get on the trail. Instead of rushing through an airport, worrying about what security might or might not allow, worrying about your checked backpack (without which you cannot hike), worrying about delays and your connecting flight, squeezing yourself into a too-small seat and receiving poor service from overworked flight attendants who charge you for just about anything you might want except the bathroom (and I can see pay toilets in their future), why not take a train?

You want to have your stove, fuel, knife, etc. in your pack and carry it on the train? No problem. No long lines at security, and your pack is with you the whole time. Coach seats on a train are wide, comfortable, and have a leg extension that pops up for when you want to sleep. If the person next to you keeps you up, you can go sleep in the lounge. You can wander around a train as much as you want and no one tells you to go back to your seat. Meals are served in an actual dining car, and if your hunger isn't on their schedule, there's a snack bar under the observation lounge.

There are no connecting flights to miss, and Amtrak doesn't cancel trains to try to fit more people onto the next train going out.

What are the negatives? Well, it takes longer. Usually overnight. But as I'll show in a moment, that's not necessarily a bad thing, and if you're going on a thru-hike you really should learn to stop rushing around sooner rather than later. As the post that inspired this thread notes, it can also be more expensive. But in my mind, that's not necessarily so. Here's why:

I did two comparable searches from the original poster's general location for March 1st. Here's what I found. Flying, the cheapest flight I found out of Baltimore to Atlanta was $106.70, including taxes but not including bag fees. Anything this cheap included a connecting flight, which you could miss (or the airlines could lose your bag). To get a direct flight, the cost was $117.60, again, not including bag fees. Almost every cheaper flight got you into Atlanta late in the day, meaning that it would be unlikely that you'd hit the trail the same day. So you might end up factoring in a hotel if you take a cheaper flight, which actually makes the more expensive flights cheaper overall.

This cost does not include getting from Atlanta to the trailhead.

For that date, the cost for a reserved coach seat on Amtrak is $100.00, cheaper than the cheap connection flights that get you to Atlanta late. The Crescent train arrives in Gainesville, GA at around 7am, plenty early to get to the trail and start hiking.

Now, for a 13 hour train ride, I wouldn't bother getting a sleeper car because coach train seats are way more comfortable than coach seats on a plane, and you can go to the lounge to hang out, but let's say you want to.

The cheapest room on The Crescent is a Viewliner Roomette. You pay the base $100.00 fare, and then it's an additional $174.00 for the room. That sounds pricey ($274.00), but that includes a room with a toilet (and showers nearby), room for your pack so it never leaves your sight, meals are also included, as is coffee, bottled water, and a newspaper (all from your porter, who provides excellent service).

So basically you're getting your transportation, meals, and a room with a porter for $274.00. But if you want to make it cheaper, find someone who wants to start hiking when you do who's from your general area. Because although you both have to pay for the base fare, the room is one price whether there's one person in it or two.

For a Baltimore to Gainesville train with a sleeper room, that would lower the cost to $187.00 each. Not bad, considering what you get, and the hassles of flying that you don't have to deal with.

The $100.00 reserved coach seat is a steal, though, and for those of you who are all into your carbon footprint, the train is more efficient, energy-wise, than planes.

Take the train -- it's a much better way to travel.

[Pacific Tortuga]

but, do they serve cheese ?

[Jester2000]

but, do they serve cheese ?

I am happy to report that on my trip West there was cheese available in some form at every meal, and the snack bar also had cheese. Good question, though. I forgot to mention that.

[Lone Wolf]

i've taken the Crescent 10 times from NY to Gainesville

[leaftye]

I wish Amtrak was a better option for getting home after finishing the PCT. I've always wanted to take the train. I may look into ways of going west to get to a station.

[Jester2000]

I wish Amtrak was a better option for getting home after finishing the PCT. I've always wanted to take the train. I may look into ways of going west to get to a station.

Route would be a bus to Seattle, the Coast Starlight to LA, and the Pacific Surfliner to San Diego (I'm assuming that's where you live). Cost: $135.00 coach, including the bus. I's a 43 hour trip, though, so if you want a room from Seattle to LA it's $408.00, or $271.50 if you split the room with another hiker.

I think it would be a great way to end a trip.

[kombiguy]

I'm curious about carrying my pack with me. Is Amtrak very strict on their baggage policies? My pack is bigger than the measurements they say they allow.

[Jester2000]

I'm curious about carrying my pack with me. Is Amtrak very strict on their baggage policies? My pack is bigger than the measurements they say they allow.

I've never heard of anyone being told they couldn't take their pack onboard. On the lower level of the trains there's a place to store larger items (for the double-decker trains that seem to run everywhere except the Northeast corridor). And even on the single deckers, the staff seems to be pretty accommodating.

[Jester2000]

Also important to note, they prohibit "Incendiaries, including flammable gases, liquids and fuels," which probably includes stove fuel. On the other hand, I've also never heard of anyone having their pack searched.

[DrRichardCranium]

If stove fuel is the only issue, are there convenient places to buy canisters after you get to Atlanta? Or at the town near Mt Springer?

[tintin]

I intend on flying from Boston to Atlanta. You can check your knife and stove in with your bag, just not a gas canister (I carried a 50 cm blade machete through US customs recently). There really isn't a lot to worry about IMHO. You can have your bag wrapped and marked fragile if you are worried. I'm not from the US but wouldn't think that a gas canister is hard to come by, especially anywhere near the trail.

I'm flying in from the UK anyways so might as well fly to Atlanta (cheaper ticket this way an have friends in Boston).

[Miner]

but, do they serve cheese ?

They not only served me cheese, but wine as well. This of course was when I went to their $10 daily wine tasting around 3pm.

I rode the Amtrak back to SoCal from Seattle after I finished my PCT hike. It was the perfect end to my adventure as it seemed like another one. Sure it took 2 days instead of a few hours, but I enjoyed the down time and not having to suddenly jump into the fast pace environoment of an airport where everyone is stressed out. I got home relaxed and I enjoyed the ride with its great scenery.

[leaftye]

How do you get from Manning Creek to Seattle? Sorry if this info is in the guidebooks. I'll be ordering those this week.

[Miner]

How do you get from Manning Creek to Seattle? Sorry if this info is in the guidebooks. I'll be ordering those this week.

Greyhound Canada picks you right up at Manning Park Lodge around 11am and takes you to the train station in Vancouver (you can buy your ticket after you get on the bus). I chose to stay at a hostel nearby the station for a few days to enjoy the city.

You then can catch a Amtrak train or Amtrak Bus (depending on the time of day) down to Kings Station in Seattle which is where Amtrak runs their big routes out of. You could also take Greyhound to Seattle as it makes 2 stops in Seattle (the last one is by the Amtrak Station) but it doesn't give you any advantage unless you want the Airport and takes longer if you are aiming for the train station. I found a new hostel at the American Hotel near Kings Station in Seattle and stayed there for a short while before I took the Amtrak train home.

[white_russian]

The train is definitely the way to go. I don't have to turn my expensive gear over to some baggage handler or bus driver who doesn't give a damn.

[Egads]

Why is Amtrak sooo expensive?

[Bulldawg]

Why is Amtrack sooo expensive?

Because it is basically a government subsidized operation?


OK, serious question here. I live and work in Gainesville, so I have the opportunity to literally drive by the depot every day. And while they might be able to answer my question, you guys seem like experts.

I thought about using Amtrak to go to DC in the summer, but Gainesville no longer "checks" bags. So does that mean I can't get on there with bags that have to go underneath the trail or in the baggage car. From reading all your posts here I am assuming this means if I could get everything I needed for my trip to DC into say, my Nimbus Latitude, I could just carry it onto the train with me?

[Egads]

Why is Amtrak sooo expensive?

Because it is basically a government subsidized operation?

Help me think this through...since our tax dollars subsidize Amtrak, it costs me more to ride the train than to fly???

[Bulldawg]

Help me think this through...since our tax dollars subsidize Amtrak, it costs me more to ride the train than to fly???

Gee, I wonder how much more health care will cost after taxpayer subsidies? Tell me why this is progress

We are not allowed to discuss those policies or that progress here Egads. Wanna organize a march on DC from WB??

[Jester2000]

How do you get from Manning Creek to Seattle? Sorry if this info is in the guidebooks. I'll be ordering those this week.

Assuming you don't meet anyone along the way who's being picked up, you'll most likely take the bus to Vancouver and then the bus to Seattle. Info is in Yogi's Guidebook.