RE: [at-l] Air travel with a pack

["L. Clayton Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>]

> Could anyone tell me about air travel with a backpack?  How do
> you secure the
> belt as well as shoulder and compression straps?  I have gone by
> train to a
> trailhead or in a vehicle, but never by air, and I'm wondering
> how to manage
> it.  Any suggestions?

It's funny, but if you check a piece of luggage that has straps, like a
carryall, they make you remove them. I checked my (large) pack to and from
Knoxville with no problems whatsoever and never secured/removed anything.
The sleeping bag pad was even attached to the top of the pack. The airline
staff seemed to be used to seeing such things and took it in stride. They
even put the luggage tag on the handle rather than one of the shoulder
straps! I was also carrying a prototype walking stick that was four feet
long, which I simply placed in the overhead compartment. Again, no one
complained about me carrying a potential weapon aboard the aircraft (but
they wouldn't let me drink my beer out of a bottle at the Knoxville
airport).

Lee I Joe

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