"to remove it, you swing it open and then disengage the pegs. rather than removing it altogether and having to deal with finding a clean, dry place to put it down, i was suggesting simply swinging it open and leaving it attached to the camera when i want to view the gg"

It's next to impossible, at the very least cumbersome, to try to use a darkcloth with the hood/protector swung out to the side when making a horizontal photograph. It's a little easier to leave the hood/protector on the camera when making a vertical photograph because then it drops down rather than sticking out to the side but it still tends to get in the way. Take it off, set it on your backpack which presumably is at or near your feet and which hopefully is a clean and dry place.

"to protect the GG in any Linhof, just fashion a snug piece of foam core. It it light, easy to remove, and totally protects the GG during transport."

Well let's see. I own a $500 metal and leather ground glass protector that came with my camera. It fits the camera perfectly, it's simple to remove and replace, and it's strong enough to protect the ground glass against anything short of a direct hit from a gun shot. Oh yes, in bright enough light I can also use it to roughly compose a photograph and then there's the clip on it that I can use to hold my dark slide when the slide is removed from the holder. But I'm not going to use that. No, instead I'm going to cut up a piece of foam core and lay it upside the ground glass and use that as a ground glass protector. I'm sorry if I seem dense but could you explain to me what advantage you're gaining by using a piece of foam core instead of the metal and leather protector Linhof has designed for the purpose and that you already have?