# Near death/Holy shit experiences....let me hear yours!



## Everymanalion

Have any experiences that you are lucky to made it out of? Sketchy people? Rabid animals? Cops that let you go when they should not have?


----------



## Asar

Got stuck in the Hoosac Tunnel for a half hour, then came out on the east portal and the tracks were just repaired from a wash out, and directly into remnants of Hurricane Katia last year. Went from thinking my friend and I were going to die of exhaust inhalation to hypothermia.

It was more dramatic and frightening than my shitty descriptive skills can convey. Ha.


----------



## smellsea

old man got arrested in nampa so i got the dogs out and hopped to poke. freezing my ass off in pocatello in november, waited for my train for two days, i kept sleeping in this one slave in the yard that wasnt moving because it was so fucking cold, i figured if they found me in there they wouldnt even have the heart to call the cops it was so fucking cold out. so i said fuck it i didnt even know if they stopped at that bridge any more so i got a friend to drive me to the high way, and i got a few short rides into soda springs. so this is where it starts to get weird, i got two dogs and i'm on the side of a road with my thumb out... wich i usually don't do, usually i feel people out at the gas station first before i grace them with my presence, hah, in their car... so a guy pulls over, with no shrit on, sunglass, mind you the sun is going down. asks me if i want another dog, i give him a dirty look. i get closer to the car and see that he's got a shot gun on the front seat, he excuses himself and goes to put the gun in the backseat and says "wich way are you goin'?" this fool is so drunk he probably doesn't even remember wich direction he was just driving in. i told him there way "no way in hell" that i was getting into his car, and he took off. a nice older guy from alaska picked me up half an hour later, told me a bunch of old stories about parties him and his military buddies crashed, actually pretty funny, didn't bombared me with questions or hit on me at all. he drove me to kesslerer where i got a hundred dollar bill as soon as i sat down and an offer to go to utah haha, no way. the lady at the gas station was asking people to give me a ride while they were inside buying shit before i could even ask them! hah. a ginger guy gave me my final ride to green river and bought me a hotel room, i checked out the next day, made a ton of money at the whack arnolds, then walked down past the tressle and an hour later my train showed up and onward to cheyenne, i get off at north platte, use a computer, and find out i gotta go back and testify to get him out of jail!! haha a pointless journey. i made it back to nampa in less than two days, i was so worried about him i didn't sleep till i got there. the rides i got back to nampa, god danm, that's a hole 'nother story. hah.


----------



## kennacoconut

The first thing that went through my head while reading this took me back to high school..

I'm a nerd. Big time. I have nightmares about failing my finals. Anyway, in the ghetto where I live, all high schools have metal detectors. Mine in specific had conveyor belt things to see in your bags, then you walk through one, and if you beep you get a handheld wand search.

One night I was hanging out with my brother and one of them had a switchblade which I took to play with the first chance I got (i was 15). I got bored, stuck it in my pocket, la dee da, went to bed. I put those same pants on the next day and was off to school.

Right before I got to the metal detector I was feeling my pockets for "keys and change" and felt.. the switch blade! I was thinking "please be a lighter please be a lighter" I was 5 feet from the metal detector and having horrific images of being pulled away by a police officer, taken to the principal's office, calling my dad, getting suspended, getting kicked out of my school, failing, and so many horrible things. At the last second I slipped the knife into my bag, underneath my school-issued laptop (why they can afford laptops for students and metal detectors, but not recent textbooks is another issue.)

I still knew I was doomed... I was trying so hard not to shake as I approached the metal detector. The conveyor belt is faster than the metal detector line so with about 4 kids ahead of me, my bag was being put through. The police officer actually stopped to double-check my bag (I should have KNOWN he knew what a laptop looked like through the metal detector!) but at that same instant, two kids walked through the metal detector at the same time. It beeped and the police officer yelled at them for being stupid and made each of them go through again, but forgot to take his hand off the controller that would make my bag stop moving. So, in the time he was yelling at the kids he had also accidentally pushed my bag along without looking, and by the time he was done a new bag was in the screen. Crises averted.

It may not have been life-or-death, but to a nerd like me.... my life would have been OVER!


----------



## Kabukimono

Cycling on a main road in Portugal, I was happily peddling minding my own buisness - suddenly a lorry hits his horn, which is fine as they normally do so to let me know there coming. He hit his horn a couple more times, I looked over my shoulder and see two lorries bombing it down the road - overtaking each other, not really giving a fuck I'm there - by the time I did look over my shoulder they were ontop of me, the closest lorry to me passed so close .. it was just insanly scary. 
My life didn't flash infront of my eyes, or any of that stuff. Everything went really slow and very bright - I managed to pull my brakes as the backdraft pulled me into him. It was a close one - too close for my liking. Obviously the next step was hurl abuse at the cunt who nearly killled me. Faggot lorry drivers.


----------



## crow jane

Asar said:


> Got stuck in the Hoosac Tunnel for a half hour, then came out on the east portal and the tracks were just repaired from a wash out, and directly into remnants of Hurricane Katia last year. Went from thinking my friend and I were going to die of exhaust inhalation to hypothermia.
> 
> It was more dramatic and frightening than my shitty descriptive skills can convey. Ha.


 
From the GENERAL CODE OF OPERATING
Unless the engineer was a complete shithead.. (which I highly doubt)

*A. Engine or Train Stopped in Tunnel*
When an engine is stopped in a tunnel and cannot move promptly, crew members must:


Shut down diesel engine at once.
Shut down Waukesha or similar type engines.
Make a full service air brake application.
Apply hand brakes to prevent movement in case the air brakes leak off.
*B. Passenger Train Stopped in Tunnel or Deep Snow*
Crew members of a passenger train stopped in a tunnel or deep snow must:


Shut off any air circulating systems including:a. Air conditioningb. Ice machinesc. Generators
Shut air intake shutters.
Turnoff blower fans.
*C. Notification if Stopped in Tunnel or Deep Snow*
The train dispatcher should be notified immediately so that proper arrangements can be made to protect persons and equipment.
*D. When These Requirements Will Not Apply*
These requirements will not apply if air currents carry the exhaust gases away from the train. Safety of passengers and crew members must be the first consideration.


----------



## Deleted member 2626

first time ever hitch hiking across country with my buddy we were at the arkansas and oklahoma border along route 40. we were in a travellodge for two days got it discounted sweeping the drive way. but the janitor dude wanted to smoke with us. he came to our room that night and we blazed then he tried telling us to go home and that the road was no place to be and that man had some nasty scars a giant burn and knife wounds and tracks. and then later says to my buddy let me see your knife and he hands it to him "now i have your knife and no body knows where you guys are at right now and your in a random hotel room, no body would ever know." I was sketched and paranoid and kinda readied myself for whatever. then he hands it back and says "don't ever give somebody your knife" we both learned one hell of an important lesson and it was pretty sketchy for me when i was still kinda wet behind the ears.


----------



## Repatwar

About 3 years ago, myself and 3 other friends hopped from Knoxville down to Atlanta. We were on a grainer porch and rolled into the Atlanta area when the sun was coming up, so we decided to get off when the train sided, in Kennesaw to be exact, and hitch the rest of the way into town as to avoid possibly being seen. Everything started out nice, we walked through the woods and past some baseball diamonds were some weekend little league games were taking place. Then things got interesting. After getting kicked down 6 or 7 hot dogs from the food stand, about 4 police cruisers rolled up and in their typical fashion, told us to beat feet. After hiking about 2 or 3 miles to the interstate (and getting harrassed by more po-po) we split up into twos, with two of our friends waiting in the woods next to the on-ramp.
After only waiting about 15 minutes, I turned around like you usually do to check and see if that certain car that just passed you might be pulling over, and I see a girl walking up the interstate in our direction, and maybe a mile up, a green Jeep is parked on the shoulder. Excited, all 4 of us picked up our packs and dogs and started trekking on down the shoulder to the Jeep, not knowing our joy would be so short lived. Despite having not spoken to the girl much other then letting her know we were trying to get to the city, it immeadiately became apparent to us that she was completely SHIT FACED. She pulled out a bottle of vodka and all four us instantly grew nervous and demanded she take the first exit and let us out, which she did at 75 mph...
It was one of those instances where you remember it in slow motion. The screeching of tires, all of us hanging on for life and screaming "OH SHIT!" We must have spun in a circle about 4 or 5 times till the car finally came to a halt. I'm convinced that had there not been 5 of us with 4 packs and 2 dogs, we would have flipped. The man in front of us got out of his car and came back to give us a life lessons speech. Ha ha ha ha. Afterwards we said hell no, we are driving this car and took her home. I think Atlanta wants to kill me.


----------



## Bl3wbyyou

Ehhh almost got swept out into the gulf of mexico.Me my brother and my dad.That was a interesting set of days.Forgot the cooler in the car.So nothing to drink/eat for 3 days.And about freezing to death at night.Then the random boats running at dark with no lights.Very random lol.

Luckily some jetskier towed us to shore so we could get the back up 3 hp motor running.From this day on ill NEVER get in a boat with a mercury.Fuck that.

Took 3 days to get back to the dock.Haha.Was one hell of a trip.And from that point on we never went out around that spot.

Could have been much worse though.


----------



## 1544c

getting off of a moving train in winter.
i had big heavy boots on and was pretty sleepy.
i climb down the latter, check the speed by kicking the ground, a little fast but not a problem. i drop down to the moving ground prepared to run but i instantly lose my footing as soon as my feet hit.
for some reason i kept hanging on to the top wrung of the ladder, thinking i could pull myself up, but with my feet dragging with heavy boots i can't pull myself.
"this is gonna suck" i remember thinking to myself, i let go of the ladder and all i can remember is seeing the train wheels sail past me and the ballast/ground above my head.
i come to after the train passes. I check my limbs, they're all there, no brain damage... rough landing, don't overestimate your abilities to jump off a train with fat boots in winter.


----------



## Avog0dro

Got caught in a tropical storm at A-cola gathering, flooded my sight out and caught near hypothermia. Then on a spange trip into Tallahassee was given a ride 60mi out in the wrong direction while I slept in the bed. Then was abandoned at a gas station in the middle of the nowhere and spent 3days walking back without food, a sleeping bag, or a single ride till I was 9mi out of site in mid-march last year.
Was robbed at gunpoint by a guy who picked me up coming out of Orlando. Took my wallet, my pack, and other shit. Made me open the door and threw me out going 30. Got pretty banged up, but was picked up fairly quick, by nice girl and got to a friend's in Ocala.


----------



## Ekstasis

Two nights ago at dusk my husband, kid and I were swimming in a small,secluded cove. We were about 20 feet offshore swimming to some rocks that were at the edge of the reedy/rocky cove. When a jet boat came flying around a bend headed straight towards us, we screamed, waved our arms and waved our pool noodles and they finally turned away. I was struggling trying to push my son away from me but then pulled him back because they swerved, all 3 of us would have been ran over if not for them seeing the stupid pool noodles at the last second. I'd told my husband earlier to leave them I probably wasn't going to swim much, but he brought them anyway. This isn't a cove to drive a boat in but there aren't any buoys or ropes to warn drunken boat drivers. The boat was towing 4 people on a giant island thing and would have dragged them over the rocks if we hadn't been there and almost got ran over. Yay, for my good deed of the day?! Wtf!


----------



## daveycrockett

kennacoconut said:


> The first thing that went through my head while reading this took me back to high school..
> 
> I'm a nerd. Big time. I have nightmares about failing my finals. Anyway, in the ghetto where I live, all high schools have metal detectors. Mine in specific had conveyor belt things to see in your bags, then you walk through one, and if you beep you get a handheld wand search.
> 
> One night I was hanging out with my brother and one of them had a switchblade which I took to play with the first chance I got (i was 15). I got bored, stuck it in my pocket, la dee da, went to bed. I put those same pants on the next day and was off to school.
> 
> Right before I got to the metal detector I was feeling my pockets for "keys and change" and felt.. the switch blade! I was thinking "please be a lighter please be a lighter" I was 5 feet from the metal detector and having horrific images of being pulled away by a police officer, taken to the principal's office, calling my dad, getting suspended, getting kicked out of my school, failing, and so many horrible things. At the last second I slipped the knife into my bag, underneath my school-issued laptop (why they can afford laptops for students and metal detectors, but not recent textbooks is another issue.)
> 
> I still knew I was doomed... I was trying so hard not to shake as I approached the metal detector. The conveyor belt is faster than the metal detector line so with about 4 kids ahead of me, my bag was being put through. The police officer actually stopped to double-check my bag (I should have KNOWN he knew what a laptop looked like through the metal detector!) but at that same instant, two kids walked through the metal detector at the same time. It beeped and the police officer yelled at them for being stupid and made each of them go through again, but forgot to take his hand off the controller that would make my bag stop moving. So, in the time he was yelling at the kids he had also accidentally pushed my bag along without looking, and by the time he was done a new bag was in the screen. Crises averted.
> 
> It may not have been life-or-death, but to a nerd like me.... my life would have been OVER!


 WHAT?


----------



## bryanpaul

waiting at the Linwood yard outside of salisbury/spencer north carolina....3 days of just chillin and reading and enjoying the countryside.....only a few IM trains per day were rolling thru.....was at the wrong spot tryin to get 'em stopped for a crew change (ccg i had was out of date they had built a new lil building farther south of me where crews get on) so i'm kinda frustrated watching trains roll by me at decent speed for 3 days...wasn't sure where exactly they were doin the CC at.....almost out of water and food....train comes rollin thru and i say "FUCK IT i gotta get out of here"....ran next to it, grabbed the ladder wrung lost my grip and was instantly spun around in a 360 and end up on the ground inches from the rails...ugh....could have died real easily...scared the shit outta me...no more catchin on the fly for me....unless it's maybe slow walking speed...........................(and if anyone finds themselves there......wait under the hwy 85 overpass that crosses the trax by the river for northbounds.......farther north for southbounds)

hahaha ALSO.....i seen this stuff growing there that i thought was wild garlic... when you pulled it up there was a little garlic clove at the root....tasted like garlic....so i'm munchin on that here and there...garlic is GOOD for you right?.....well the next day i wake up and my whole face is swelled up...like puffy as SHIT......freaked me the fuck out......


----------



## Doobie_D

A series of events back to back that should have brought death:

http://squattheplanet.com/threads/worst-detour-i-ever-took.7519/

Yeah its really long.


----------



## CXR1037

I've had a few near death/HOLY SHIT experiences:

I've been on two trains that've busted in half. It's kind of freaky when the train goes into emergency and lurches forward, and there's always a possibility of derailment, but both times have been pretty mellow.

While crossing strings in RV once, the second I let go of the ladder, the train pulled. It was shocking because I'd just crossed really casually: not hanging on to cross bar, etc. I would have gone straight under if I was on that train. Ever since, I cross strings with a death grip, 3 points of contact, etc.

Another time in Roseville, I trekked through the field at night, when it was damp. First string I go to cross, my foot slips across the inside ladder and I fall right on the rail, underneath the knuckle. It was a dormant string and I immediately shot out of there, but that was the most legitimately freaked out I've ever been. Ever since, I'm super careful with my footing, especially if I know my shoes are wet.

cxR - knock on wood


----------



## Sprouticus

One of a few...Timmy(he always has the grubbiest fingers ewwww dont let him make u a sandwhich) and I Monroe Lousiana just after getting out of jail in Meridian Mississippi and meeting Doobie D and Kaayyyyyla at the walmart. I was quite new to hopping trains, we had just gotten out for getting busted my first time riding! WHOO! Anyways trying to get west out of Monroe is super cake walk now but back then i didnt really know better. I was very late and we just wanted to keep moving west back to Austin. We were walking/waiting along the tracks in downtown i was very tired and wasn't looking forward to hopping on the fly as train move through this area very fast. Timmy don't give a #$%@ so he says there's our train so we line up and watch it. Its going very fast and i say "I dont think so bro", obviously he ignored me because he found a nice grainer and hopped on. I though "Its do or die ill be stuck here forever if i dont". I ran along as fast as i could as the train had sped up some after he got on, it was dark and i couldn't make out my footing very well. I stumbled as i grabbed the ladder and tried to get my feet on the bar but my hand slipped off. It had been raing for a couple days. I knew i was going to go under and chopped to pieces but just as i was millimeters away from being pulled under, Timmy grabbed my wrist and somehow pulled me back up and over onto the porch. "If you use your knees, its a breeze" From then on i would never put my feet up first but stabilize myself on the ladder with my knees and then climb up. One of the scariest moments of my life besides accidently shooting meth in Portland but that is another story.......


----------



## Rob Nothing

trying to get out of brownwood tx once I decided to wait at the north throat where it seemed the trains slowed enough around the bend to catch onto.. first thing that comes is empty coal and I'm not sure I want to get myself stuck in one but decide it's worth the risk since I'm getting impatient with the yard situation there. as this thing comes blowing by at speeds just a hair fast for my expertise, I start jogging alongside and look down and realize what a ridiculous disadvantage I have given myself.. the ballast angles up sharply which means that I am running on the slope of it and significantly lower down than I would normally be and I can barely reach the rungs on the ladders. also, I am on the OUTSIDE of the curve, and loaded down with a grocery bag full of canned food slung over one shoulder.. wearing my jacket in 70 degree weather... good grief. I try 3 times and take some pretty good tumbles. I new I didn't have much of a chance and I was shaking with nerves but I had to force myself to it anyway because a success would have put a big grin on my face and I needed that. pretty stupid, anyhow. I'm lucky I walked away from that with only bruises and cuts.

in a gon from huston to san antonio, the train had an emergency stop and I'd thought we derailed it was such a brutal, hair-raising halt. I had to get out and check if we were still on the rails, just to make sure.

what else.. last train I caught I caught it like a total idiot. running as fast as I could to catch hold of the ladder, going after the back end and not the front which is stupid at that speed. and on top of that I wasn't even fully awake, everything was soaked in morning dew, and I had my sleepsystem hanging on the wrong side, against the train, making it even more difficult to drag myself up without it catching on something. I lol'd at myself after collapsing aboard. you lucky fucking dolt.

walking trackside in bakersfield at 2 am looking for a spot, I see figures in the yard on the other side of an 8 foot fence and hear someone shout "jump him jump him jump him!". only in california.. anywhere else I'd have been jumped, and not just trapped in fight/flight mode the rest of the night.


----------



## Lost in transit

Crashed at 130 on cinco de mayo in Orlando. That might have been the closest one yet. Went under a chain link fence and missed two cement poles and a semi


----------



## Nelco

Drunken suidcide night ride ride..floorless...sitting on a board we found I think..kept falling asleep and waking to Frex nudging me and pointing at my foot that was about to fall into the wheel...passed out....woke up soberly alive in the day time.


----------



## CrashBandit

I was posted up in the woods next to tracks in the middle of nowhere Alabama at a siding waiting for a rideable westbound to stop.
I'd been waiting all day and it was just about to get dark so I didn't feel the need to hide anymore. I'm folding up my tarp and was about to move to a more comfortable spot to wait.. when an old pickup truck comes flying up the dirt road along other side of tracks and parks directly across from me like 20 feet away.
Thinking it's a farmer I crouch down to hide and wait.

Guy gets out, turns on police scanner (!?) and starts moving stuff around in bed of truck.
All woods on my side of tracks and all soybean fields on other side. He can see anyone approaching a mile away, plus the scanner... I take a quick peek and he has a shotgun propped up against tailgate.
Pretty quickly it becomes obvious he's not a farmer, he's cooking dope!
Weird chemical smells, tinking glass, bizare rambling to himself confirm it.

Terrifying. We all know how paranoid meth-heads can be, especially if they're doing a cook. I was positive that if I coughed or did anything to give away my presence that he would probably start shooting. I had to wait quiet as a church mouse for hours before he finally left.


----------



## CrashBandit

Then there's the time I almost bled to death bc I had to jump off a train that was heading for the notoriously hot Bowden yard in Jacksonville..

The day before I'd gotten caught in the yard riding up from Miami. I'd been caught by bulls a couple times before, but always just verbally warned to leave after ID cleared as non-fugitive. This time they took my pic & the bull informed me that "I know it's like the wild west everywhere else and nobody cares, but here in Florida we take riding trains illegally very seriously, It's actually a felony here... you can get 11-29. I'm going to let you go with a warning, but you will go into a database as having been warned. If you're ever caught on railroad property again anywhere in Florida you WILL serve 11-29"
When I asked why it was a felony he said "it's a safety issue, we don't want anyone getting hurt". I non-argumentatively pointed out that it's my life/body to risk, and Florida allows riding a motorcycle without a helmet ... so how is this any different? Not having an answer and feeling like I was making him look stupid / being a smartass, he got pissed and threw in a ticket too:





Shit :/ Shoulda kept my mouth shut lol


Anyways. Being arrogant and seeing as how I was so close to state line, I foolishly tried to catch north again thinking I'd be out of Florida quickly and noone would know.

Wrong. Train hits a switch and is headed straight back into Bowden yard. Fuck!

I waited as long as possible hoping train would slow down or stop before entering the yard, but a quarter mile away I realize it's not going to. I clock it going around 25 mph with gps. It's going waayyy to fast to bail safely, but it's either that or 11-29 + felony on my record.

I chose to bail. I threw my gear. Then I jumped. Knowing "hitting ground running" like a slow on the fly bail would be a faceplant, I opted to "tuck and roll"
Honestly it wasn't as bad as I was expecting... I would've been just fine if not for one thing: My leg was punctured about an inch deep by one of those rusty metal strips you see sticking up from between gravel, and I also got skinned badly right next to it probably from same metal.

So... I'm bleeding really bad, cant walk at all (I think I have a broken leg but luckily it turns out later not to be)
I rip off my shirt and make a
tourniquet as best I can, then a crawl on my back using elbows and good leg until I finally reach my gear down by treeline. Luckily I happened to have my flashlight in my pocket or I never who would've found it in the dark.

Without even removing first tourniquet, I clean/dress wound quickly, then use a bungee-cord-with-hooks thingy I had in bag to make a good tourniquet and elevate leg by propping it up on my bag.

As Im laying there growing increasingly light headed and thinking I'm probably going to die and how 11-29 doesn't sound so bad now... I fish out my phone to call rescue, but pass out from blood loss before I can make the call.

If I hadn't found gear, or not had the flashlight on me or the bungee cord in my bag, I would've died for sure.

This is the scar a year and a half later:




(Puncture wound on left, skin removed on right)
I almost lost my leg from infection, and couldn't walk for like 2 months. Luckily I got housed up with a nice couple that wife was a nurse who had tons of wound care stuff from work. I needed two different antibiotics to fight off infection.

I highly recommend no one ever ever attempt to jump from a train going that fast. It's not worth almost dying / loosing leg just to avoid jail.


----------



## AlwaysLost

bryanpaul said:


> waiting at the Linwood yard outside of salisbury/spencer north carolina....3 days of just chillin and reading and enjoying the countryside.....only a few IM trains per day were rolling thru.....was at the wrong spot tryin to get 'em stopped for a crew change (ccg i had was out of date they had built a new lil building farther south of me where crews get on) so i'm kinda frustrated watching trains roll by me at decent speed for 3 days...wasn't sure where exactly they were doin the CC at.....almost out of water and food....train comes rollin thru and i say "FUCK IT i gotta get out of here"....ran next to it, grabbed the ladder wrung lost my grip and was instantly spun around in a 360 and end up on the ground inches from the rails...ugh....could have died real easily...scared the shit outta me...no more catchin on the fly for me....unless it's maybe slow walking speed...........................(and if anyone finds themselves there......wait under the hwy 85 overpass that crosses the trax by the river for northbounds.......farther north for southbounds)
> 
> hahaha ALSO.....i seen this stuff growing there that i thought was wild garlic... when you pulled it up there was a little garlic clove at the root....tasted like garlic....so i'm munchin on that here and there...garlic is GOOD for you right?.....well the next day i wake up and my whole face is swelled up...like puffy as SHIT......freaked me the fuck out......



Got be careful with wild garlic. Death Camus looks just like it and often grows among it. I've heard that if it smells like garlic you are good to go but don't take my word for it.


----------

