My last two trips involved long drives after landing and a rigid permit schedule. I didn't want to deal with the wait or the risk of checking a bag. The only borderline items I had packed were tent stakes. I got to the airport early enough to check the bag if necessary but sailed through with everything in a carry-on.

My plan was to check the bag with all my gear if necessary but in retrospect I think that a smarter approach would be to either check just a small package containing only the stakes, or, better yet, bring cheap stakes that could be tossed at the checkpoint and pick up more cheap stakes on the other end if necessary. That would completely eliminate the risk of checking my main gear. I used an alcohol stove so stopped at Walmart after landing to pick up yellow Heet and the last of the food.