Also for what it's worth I'm not some dumb kid that's going to blow up and trash up the spot. I just want to learn about routes again, view some maps, and maybe pass through quietly at some point in the future. I'm planning to go on foot as much as possible since the motorcycle plan didn't work out thanks to covid. I'm mainly interested in the train stuff because it may be helpful for getting myself out of the middle of nowhere or back home quickly from time to time. I lurked that board for a long time and read about all the dangers. I respect it. I'm not interested in losing a leg or fucking it up for everyone else by being an asshole. I just want to be left alone and see some more of the country before I die or everything goes to hell (which seems to be happening sometime soon).
Anyway, I suppose generating some discussion might be a jester of good faith. A train passes through a small town near me almost every night. It stops there for about 15-30 minutes every night. I can walk to those tracks in about 2 hours and used to have a friend that lived right next to them. I've walked up and looked at the cars a few times. Didn't really know what to look for at the time. Called out and offered weed and beer to anyone that might be riding but never got an answer back.
I've looked on google maps and this train runs for a long ways north/south but I'm not really sure how to tell where that particular one might end up. Always been spooked by the thought that they might drop the cars in the middle of nowhere. I could probably find my way back no problem but it seemed like a huge pain in the ass I didn't want to bother with. At any rate my plan was to ride it to some place that might have a opportunity to catch a train heading west, south, or north long distance. For now I'm mostly interested in figuring out how to get to areas with more traffic that doesn't involve using a car or the interstates. I'm not really interested in seeing more of what's along the interstates. I've done enough of that already.
I will probably take off on foot for a short trip soon to feel this out and gain experience for longer trips in the future. My gear is already pretty good because I do so much hiking and camping out over night. I don't claim to know everything but I'm pretty familiar with living in the woods. I've just done it mostly as a solitary thing up until now. Where now I'm more interested in traveling around and meeting new people. I just don't want to deal with the internet part of it. I avoid cell phone addicts like the plague. I do not like every having my picture taken by friends and family. Never did going back to the camcorder days. I can feel it stealing my soul. I do not like cameras in general or the fact that they're now EVERYWHERE even if you don't count the ones everyone is carrying around.