I searched for topics and haven't found any.

I'm thinking of taking a 6-7 month trip hitchhiking across the U.S.(Iowa to wyoming, then to new mexico, california, up to washington) Does anyone have any experience/advice? I plan on using http://www.couchsurfers.com for places to stay and mostly just live out of a tent.

My main objective would of course be to make it around the U.S. but I'd like to also do as much volunteer work as possible, working in soup kitchens, on habitat houses, and any other short term projects that are going on in the town that I'm in. Plus maybe a little work here and there if i can find it (Seasonal farm work and other manual labor probably, not for money, but just some food and a place to stay).

I don't know if I want to go alone or with another guy. Anyway, If you have any suggestions on places to see, the best way to catch rides, what items to bring, etc, or just want to share experience, post em here.

4/17/2007 9:55:59 PM

plan on sucking a LOT of cock to get all the way across the country

4/17/2007 10:03:01 PM

Get a good pack, one that unzips all along the front (so you can lay it down, open it up the length of it so you don't have to dig around in the bottom of it). I backpacked around Europe for about 2 months and it really made things easy. I wouldn't be the one to ask about camping though. You can live off a lot less clothes than you'd think... although that might not be the case if you're doing manual labor.

4/17/2007 10:03:57 PM

^^ I guess someone named "Saddamizer" would know

4/17/2007 10:07:24 PM

yeah, i also just watched Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

4/17/2007 10:08:06 PM

I picked up a college kid hitchhiking from Red Rocks to somewhere in Kentucky, I picked him up near St Louis. He was following Phish to a concert in Raleigh, I was going to the same concert when I got home

he had some fun stories, and some really creepy ones, if your gonna do it be careful

4/17/2007 10:12:59 PM

ill be that guy as well and say KY

4/17/2007 10:14:26 PM

Be sure to bring Bud Light and a bottle opener of some variety

4/17/2007 11:19:51 PM

^lol

^^^Why the creepy stories? Did he run into any trouble along the way?

4/17/2007 11:32:04 PM

i'd imagine it would be pretty damn easy to run into trouble on the way. bring a gun.

4/17/2007 11:53:52 PM

I see there being an "Unsolved Mysteries" episode about your future

4/18/2007 12:03:34 AM

Man, ya'll are depressing, when was the last time you heard of a hitchhiker getting killed?

4/18/2007 12:08:05 AM

I dunno, their body probably hasn't been found yet.

4/18/2007 12:15:45 AM

jerry's dead, phish sucks, get a job

4/18/2007 12:16:45 AM

i hitchhiked off and on many years ago. and i used to pick up hitchhikers too. i also did a couple aimless cross-country wanderings on a few occasions.

this was at various times within the age ranges from 17-25. between late '80s - mid '90s

at that time i didnt think any big deal about it. i never had anything crazy happen to me from the hitchhiking per se.

the real crazy shit happened to me due to the places I found myself "hanging out". because you can easily wind up in places surrounded by vagrants and itenerants from various backgrounds, most of whom are not college educated kids working out some existential issues.

to be honest, I know I escaped being killed on a few occasions. My "escapes" were largely due to luck. One of the instances, I suspect, could have resulted in my autopsy photos being featured on "rotten.com" -- assuming my body would have been recovered.

I'm not trying to sound cryptic about it, but i dont want to go into the ridiculously stupid details. Short story:

(1) don't hang around downtown riverbanks drinking beer with homeless bums/ex-convicts/fugitives/junkies.

(2) if you must do #1, don't be a bogart about it. even if it is mostly your money that purchased said alcohol, share it all, with everyone, willingly. It's not worth dying over a sixpack of cheap beer.

...

so on the one hand, i would strongly try to dissuade you from your undertaking from the simple perspective of safety.

but on the other hand, i did it a couple times and... well, i dont know how valuable it was, but its part of who I am. If I had to do it again (and I wouldnt *ever* do it again if I could help it), here is what I would make sure to do.

(1) most importantly, if at all possible do this with a travalling companion. Definitely male, not female. [no homo]. you will absolutely always benefit from having someone watching your back, who can fight when needed.

If no one you know will embark on this "adventure" with you, there might be a reason for that. you might want to consider the reason very strongly as you rethink your plans.

(2) sturdy boots. quality but low key. you dont want someone hitting you over the head with a brick for your Dr. Martins.

(3) a legal sized hunting knife, in special sheath that fits inside your boot or around your calf. this is separate from a normal pocket knife, and should never be used or drawn or shown to anyone for any reason other than to seriously injure or kill them. Which, needless to say, is something you want to avoid if at all possible.

(4) put an amount of money ($300, $500, more if possible) into an investment at your bank (money market / mutual fund) do not even think about spending this money at any time during your trip. it is for emergency use only where emergency is like your life depends on it. basically to haul your ass home in a hurry via Greyhound or whatever.

(5) set up a special debit card account with your home bank. do the following.

   - Put all your money in Savings.
   - Set the card so that Savings is NOT accessible via the debit card
   - verify this fact personally at a couple different ATMs
   - calculate the maximum amount of money you should ever need in one week.
   - set automatic transfer to occur every week from Savings to Checking.
   - only use this amount of money (or less!) each week. dont cheat
   - if overspend, discipline yourself to say "tough shit" and be broke.

this will prevent you from being (A) being a dumbass with your money, and more importantly it will (B) prevent you from being robbed at knife or gunpoint by some crackhead who forces you to withdraw everything from your checking account after they've been casing you for a few days.

if anyone (even your buddy) asks, your *parents* (or brother or aunt or grandma, or someone who cant be contacted) are the ones putting the amount in your checking every week. never let on to anyone that you have an available but untapped source of money.

(6) when broke, emergency cash is best gained by performing Day Labor. If you can not find any day labor places around you, or do not have enough time, other options include:

   - selling blood plasma. this generally sucks. it's fine for a time here or time there, but do not get in the habit of this.

   - shoplifting then "returning" the goods for a refund. Jeans work great. try on the jeans then leave your old ones and haul ass outta there. Go to a completely different store, and get your "refund". dont get in the habit of this either. because jail sucks.

be forewarned, do not in general become too chummy with anyone you meet in a day labor operation. they always have fucked up drama and will drag you into their crackhead/alcoholic schemes.

(7) Bros before Hoes.

...

i think that covers most of the important stuff.

4/18/2007 2:07:35 AM

This may be a stupid question, but isn't hitch hicking illegal?

4/18/2007 2:52:32 AM

google is my friend

Quote :

"many people believe hitchhiking is illegal in the United States. This is simply not true. While some states may have quirky laws that can make hitchhiking more difficult, there is no state-wide law that outright prohibits hitchhiking. It's the legal definition of the word roadway that throws most people off. --http://www.digihitch.com/usa428.html"

bascially you cant stand on an Interstate and hitchhike. often there are signs on teh on ramps saying no pedestrians beyond a certain point. this is for vehicle safety (needing to maintain constant speeds without worrying about pedestrians or livestock).

4/18/2007 3:04:33 AM

Quote :

" - shoplifting then "returning" the goods for a refund. Jeans work great. try on the jeans then leave your old ones and haul ass outta there. Go to a completely different store, and get your "refund". dont get in the habit of this either. because jail sucks."

This is one of the things that always annoys me about hobos and squatters. If you can't cut it without being a thief then get a job.

Quote :

"to be honest, I know I escaped being killed on a few occasions. My "escapes" were largely due to luck. One of the instances, I suspect, could have resulted in my autopsy photos being featured on "rotten.com" -- assuming my body would have been recovered."

At least tell us about the rotten.com story.


You can usually hitchhike legally as long as you're not thumbing on the side of an interstate highway. You can thumb rides from the entrance ramp to the interstate though.

4/18/2007 8:21:52 AM

Yeah I'd like to hear more of these hitchhiking stories Joe.

I've never hitchhiked, but it seems like common sense to me that you'd want to blend in as much as possible with the hobos. I'd go to an old Army surplus store and buy a beat up backpack to carry my stuff in instead of some $500 titanium frame pack from REI, stuff like that. That way if you lose it, no huge financial loss, and like Joe said, you won't get hit over the head with a brick for it.

Also another option that I've heard about is train hopping. Supposedly it's a little more risky from a legal standpoint (in that it's pretty much illegal across the entire US to hop on a freight rail car) and you always run the risk of getting run over by the train, but you aren't depending on someone else to give you a ride. There was a piece on NPR about it a while back and this dude just rode trains all over the country for a year or two. Supposedly you get to see some awesome scenery in areas of the US that are mostly undeveloped.

Stumbled across this site, looks to have some good info on it - http://www.digihitch.com/

Oh and if you do make it up to Seattle, stop in at the Blue Moon on 45th St, right off of I-5. It's the biggest hitchhiker / hobo bar I've ever been to. Constant stream of transients in and out the door. It's the oldest bar in the city and as my friend said once, "every person here is the most interesting person I've ever seen."

4/18/2007 10:08:39 AM

Why don't you get an Amtrak/VIA North American rail pass or two and spend a month or two doing that?

4/18/2007 10:11:49 AM

Thanks joe_schmoe. I don't plan on hanging around places that Hobos would be hanging around all that often, but I guess you never know what sort of situations you might get into. All the advice sounds good. I like to do a lot of camping, especially in utah and colorado, and the rest of the places, I'm hoping to get places to sleep via couchsurfing. But then, I shouldn't bet on that.


How did you deal with having to have your backpack on you ALL the time? I imagine it would get frustrating trying to keep an eye on it while you do anything.

^^Train hopping sounds fun, but I want to try and keep it as legal as possible

4/18/2007 10:28:19 AM

Quote :

"Man, ya'll are depressing, when was the last time you heard of a hitchhiker getting killed?"

You probably haven't heard about a hitchhiker getting killed because 99% of the population has wized up since the 60s and figured out it was to much of a risk to do in the first place.

Seriously, who hitchhikes nowadays?

4/18/2007 10:32:25 AM

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/comedy-goldmine/hitchhiking-greatest-game.php

this guy went with a friend and had a great time. It's a good read and has some advice for hitchikers

4/18/2007 10:49:22 AM

You probably don't hear about hitchhikers getting killed because you usually don't hear much about hobos getting killed.

4/18/2007 10:51:43 AM

Quote :

" This is one of the things that always annoys me about hobos and squatters. If you can't cut it without being a thief then get a job. "

i dont reccommend it. living frugally off savings and/or working daylabor or other random jobs is the way to do it.

but you may well find yourself in a bind, and have no other options but to "beg, borrow, or steal"

personally, i refused to beg.

4/18/2007 10:58:09 AM

You might want to read "Hokkaido Highway Blues" about hitchhiking across Japan; semi-related, plus it's a good book
http://www.amazon.com/Hokkaido-Highway-Blues-Hitchhiking-Japan/dp/1569472343

Me and my brother just hitchhiked last Sunday, it worked out fine. Probably the biggest danger is from getting smushed by a car while standing next to the road.

4/18/2007 11:04:27 AM

Thanks for the links everyone. I decided that i AM going to do it, and I've found a friend to come along.

Joe_schmoe, what areas of the country did you mainly hang out in? What were the best ways you found to get rides? Any places that i definately need to avoid?

4/18/2007 7:36:06 PM

sounds fun, i say go for it

4/18/2007 7:38:22 PM

What's your real name? I want to know so I can BTTT this thread when I read about your murder in the papers.

Anyway, the hitchhiking paradox is that the people you don't need to worry about are afraid to pick you up because they think YOU will kill THEM, and in the back of your mind you're always going to be worried about the people that DO pick you up killing you.

4/18/2007 7:49:08 PM

Just curious, what do your parents think about this idea? Or do they even care at all what you do with your life?

4/18/2007 7:50:37 PM

^ Haven't told them yet

However, my previous plan was to do aid work is sudan, so i figure they might think this is a step up...

My mom hitchhiked from newyork to mexico, then around hawaii. My dad was also homeless for 5 years in hawaii, living on the beaches and surfing. So... they really can't say much, only give good advice.

4/18/2007 8:05:53 PM

watch your cornhole

gas grass or ass no one rides for free

4/18/2007 8:20:31 PM

^^ Wow, I figured your parents were hippies of some sort.

4/18/2007 8:22:05 PM

Ah, dirtbaggin'. I've never done it but I know a number of people who have lived on nothing and just hitchhike to JTree, Red Rocks, and Yosemite to rock climb all year. I almost wish I had the time to be a climbing bum.

4/18/2007 8:56:59 PM

Quote :

"ust curious, what do your parents think about this idea? Or do they even care at all what you do with your life?"

your answer sir

Quote :

"My mom hitchhiked from newyork to mexico, then around hawaii. My dad was also homeless for 5 years in hawaii, living on the beaches and surfing. So... they really can't say much, only give good advice."

Im sure his parents, Willow Tree and Moon Child, have no problem with this because he is just such a free spirit.

seriously though, you are a moron, get a job and deal with the real world.

4/18/2007 9:02:34 PM

^^^^^^^^Way back to my post near the top,

the kid i picked up, had to jumped out of a truck at a truck stop because a guy wanted something more than a handshake, the guy chased him into the truck stop, the kid tired to call the cops, the employees help him out made the guy leave.

He also had a drinking with bums story ditto to what Joe said, actually i agree with everything he said

Also on a odd note i saw a college age kid, with a backpack and cellphone riding on the front of a tanker car. I was at the crossing on jones st, so i'm guessing he jumped on near campus or the amtrack station, I hope he got off safe.

4/18/2007 9:48:17 PM

Quote :

"I've never hitchhiked, but it seems like common sense to me that you'd want to blend in as much as possible with the hobos."

1) do NOT try to look like a hobo. You should, as much as possible, put forth a little effort every day to try to look relatively clean and sane.

2) but i agree, you do not want to stand out with expensive gear or clothes however. it is a fine art to looking "non-descript"

3) do not spend time "hanging out" with the perpetually homeless, or in places where the perpetually homeless congregate. it will only lead to trouble.

4) However, sometimes you may need services that cater to this population. Towns often have some sort of "Traveller's Aid" office that can point you toward available services for when you're in a pinch.

5) various social service organizations in every mid-sized town and larger including thrift shops and soup kitchens. you can usually find at least one church organizations that gives free lunches. sometimes they make you sit through a sermon.

6) as for these types of service orgs, get what you need and do what you have to, then scoot on out of there. dont get caught up in the local homeless population's drama. God knows they have plenty, and love to share it.

7) a word on homeless shelters or "missions". these are a mixed bag. you can get a shower and a hot meal and a bed, but you are putting yourself at risk. mainly the risk that you will get caught up in somebody's drama or another. drama is the worst thing because one thing leads to another and the next thing you know it's assrape and dismemberment.

8) if you get caught up in homeless drama, and find yourself in the middle of it. remember one thing: LISTEN CAREFULLY, AND DONT SPEAK ANY MORE THAN YOU HAVE TO. running your mouth is the thing that will get you in the most trouble.

9) if youre in a city after hours and have nowhere to sleep, ive found that stairwells in parking garages are relatively safe and comfortable. go to the topmost level, preferrably at or above the uppermost deck, just below the roof access. there is little to no foot traffic. or perhaps the bottommost level below the lowest stairwell. make sure its not already claimed.

..

10) I think the best way to do this is to sort of "plan" your route along with alternate options ahead of time. do some research and try to hit the college towns as much as possible, or cities that have a proportionally "younger" demographic.

11) when possible, associate with people who are doing well, relatively speaking. try to stay away from the "low bottoms". ie, dont hang around with people who have less than you.

12) stay the hell away from people doing drugs. even pot is suspect. i know this is going to be a judgement call, but just remember: people who are homeless are NOT recreational drug users, i don't care what they say. yeah, i know college kids can smoke a little weed and handle themselves okay, but these people are not your average college kids.

13) a Leatherman Tool may be one of the single best investments to make. get one.

14) stay in touch with someone who gives a damn about you on a regular basis.

EDIT:

15) use Desenex. or some anti-fungal shit. use it religiously. i wound up with the most god-awful case of athlete's foot after a 9-month "tour"



[Edited on April 19, 2007 at 2:22 AM. Reason : ]

4/19/2007 2:15:17 AM

crotch rot is a bitch

4/19/2007 2:36:54 AM

^ sure, if you say so. athlete's foot was on my feet. most likely got it from public showers. best to always use flip flops when you can.

Quote :

"Joe_schmoe, what areas of the country did you mainly hang out in? What were the best ways you found to get rides? Any places that i definately need to avoid?"

as for getting rides, its kind of hit or miss. just luck really. i found that if i could make a good, witty cardboard sign, that helped a lot. make sure its big and legible. i had a couple creepy rides. my gut instinct said "this dudes a freak" and i jumped out at the next stop, yelled 'thanks!' and headed in the opposite direction so he couldnt follow. nothing ever happened to me, but you should always be careful.

on my trips i mostly knocked around the eastern half of the US: Minneapolis MN, Des Moines IA, Kansas City, Wichita KS, Tulsa OK, Houston, Corpus Christi, Brownsville TX, Matamoros Mexico., Baton Rouge, Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, Dayton OH, Cleveland, Ocean City NJ, Baltimore, DC, Tampa Bay/Clearwater.

avoid Baltimore and DC. at all costs. in fact, just avoid the bigger cities altogether if at all possible. from your perspective, the only thing big cities will offer you that smaller ones cant, is more trouble to get into.

anyhow, some of the places i went was planned, but most of it was random. if i had to do it over i would have planned more and random less. and not just go to some city for that city's sake. i did all this between '89-'95, before i really knew much about the internet, and even if i did, it wouldnt have been real helpful at that time. now you can research a lot more about places to go and what you might find there.

Funny story: i arrived in Des Moines IA never having been there before. I went downtown to see what was happening, and in the city center there were set up several beer tents, a stage with a band, and about 1000 midgets dressed in business or business-casual attire, milling about, drinking beer and socializing.

I thought I was Gulliver on the island of the Lilliputians or something. I was seriously having a mind fuck. I was like the only person of normal height. midgets just kind of ignored me and went about their business with their party.

I left the area, walked down the street to a Qwik-E-Mart, the guy there was normal height, I said "what the fuck is going on here?" he's like "oh, that. yeah, apparently every year the Little People have a convention somewhere. This year they're having it here in Des Moines. Pretty weird, huh?"

I was only 18, and i was pretty clueless at that point. If I had to do it all over again knowing what I know now, I woulda definitely tried to hook up with a hottie midget chick. i mean, there were like a thousand of them, and there was alcohol. Hell maybe i coulda got two.

seriously. damn, i really was fucking clueless. [/hand to forehead]





[Edited on April 19, 2007 at 3:00 AM. Reason : ]

4/19/2007 2:51:50 AM

sure.. joe_schmoe knows whats up on most things... but i'll have to say.. homeless shelters are fine, you won't get into shit ehre unless you want to. most homeless people will ask for cigs, dont say no. ask for 25cents a cig. thats what works. homeless a year in at least 10 diff states.. i'll defend homelessness accusations.


(btw i'm also drunk, so none of this means much)

4/19/2007 3:09:08 AM

he has a point.

there is a wide variety of people who I call the "perpetually homeless"

some of them are truly good and decent people.

some of them are ex-convicts/fugitives/psychopaths/mentally deranged/junkies.

homeless people are many many times more likely to die due to violent crime than the general population.

homeless shelters, in and of themselves, are fairly safe. not totally, but generally. occasionally you have someone go off and attack someone in a drug or insanity fueled craze but its rare. the shelters are generally pretty good about screening out the really dangerous types. they have to be. but it also varies from shelter to shelter and city to city.

the main problem is that the more you hang around centers of homeless activity, the more you find yourself assimilating into the group dynamic. its inevitable. its like a vortex. the only way to prevent it is to keep yourself removed from it (mentally and physically) as much as possible.

i mean, yeah theres some good people, but its not a good life.

4/19/2007 3:21:32 AM

YOU GONNA GET RAPED!

4/19/2007 9:15:07 AM

This is one of the most interesting threads I've ever read on this site. I have a new respect for joe_schmoe too. The guy obviously has a diverse repertoire of life experiences.

Makes me wish we had an archive section for "all-star" threads that are read-only for threads like this and others of equal interest.

4/19/2007 9:45:01 AM

Yeah I agree, I've been coming back to this thread a lot over the last couple days. I've always wanted to just wander the country for a month or so and see what happens, but with a 10 month old now that's not going to be happening anytime soon.

On a side note, that site I linked above, http://www.digihitch.com/ , has some incredible stories on it. The set of stories by that guy LightFoot are really good. Basically he hitches from Chicago to the southwest where he runs into this young female pot dealer. He hangs out with her for a week, she gives him a big bag of pot for the road, and he later gets busted with it in BFE, Oklahoma. Spends a week or so in jail there and has to go back and forth between Chicago and OK to get the case cleared up. Very interesting read IMO.

4/19/2007 10:24:38 AM

Damn, I wish I had the balls to do something like this.

4/19/2007 10:42:21 AM

joe_schmoe definitely has some good tips. I've heard also that you should try to look as non-threatening and meek as possible in order for people to actually stop to pick you up.

Quote :

"seriously though, you are a moron, get a job and deal with the real world."

How is hitchhiking not part of the real world? And how come you sound so angry that this guy wants to hitchhike around the U.S.?

I still would recommend reading Hokkaido Highway Blues. http://www.couchsurfers.com seems to just be an ad site with no information on it.

4/19/2007 10:43:24 AM

I suggest taking a hand gun with you. Sounds dangerous.

4/19/2007 11:31:10 AM

i'd imagine that a hand gun would cause worlds of problems

4/19/2007 11:54:58 AM

^ i'd strongly advise not to take a gun. for way too many reasons to even get into it.

a small but stout hunting knife in a boot or calf sheath is really the best option. but dont pull it unless you are absolutely prepared to stab someone in the throat with it. we're talking "life depends on it" stuff.

4/19/2007 11:58:04 AM

We need a weekly joe_schmoe story hour.

4/19/2007 12:29:04 PM