First train hop

[klamytaint101]

so over the past months ive done research every single day on how to ride, at this point im very confident in my knowledge and ability to get where i want to go. ive made a few posts already planning to head towards donnor pass with me and my friend, but we decided roseville might be a bit much to tackle for our first hop even though we are pretty confident. so we found another route which honestly is argueably more pretty, we are gonna leave from sac and take a NBD Z train up north, we arent sure where we want to get off yet or where we could, it all depends on how long our trip takes and where we stop lol. we have a good list of supplies to bring. but we want to prepare and make sure we have everything to a T before we leave. we are gonna head up in mid febuaray to march. if anyone has any tips on nice scenery or anything you might find helpful it would be appriciated. safe travels everyone 💪

 

[81285]

I recommend to do some simple rides, to get a feel for it, take it as a challenge, go early and hitchike back, definitely take a tent as well if you need to camp, learn how to set up a tarp for protection from the elements, how to make a simple tiki, and so on
the train is always a ticket to nowhere, be prepared for that
and always carry satellite navigation, best to do some long multiday hikes and simulate being in the middle of nowhere and finding the closest river and road

 

[Joey Garbanzo]

How are you going to identify your "ztrain"? It's a specific train. How do you know which IM it is?
Wait until you find out about bringing bags. 😋

In all honesty that "confidence" you have is just the right amount to end up in trouble and that can look like many things from being arrested, stranded, injured or killed.

You couldn't have researched that much considering there is a ton of gear threads like this right here on this forum.

I might sound like I'm being an ass but this is dangerous shit you're thinking of doing and you can find yourself in a whole world of hurt.

 

[klamytaint101]

How are you going to identify your "ztrain"? It's a specific train. How do you know which IM it is?
Wait until you find out about bringing bags. 😋

In all honesty that "confidence" you have is just the right amount to end up in trouble and that can look like many things from being arrested, stranded, injured or killed.

You couldn't have researched that much considering there is a ton of gear threads like this right here on this forum.

I might sound like I'm being an ass but this is dangerous shit you're thinking of doing and you can find yourself in a whole world of hurt.

ive been watching riders for years already, for the past 3-4 months ive put in work daily finding out exactly what i need to find out to know, where im going and when, i know what ride i want and where to wait for it to pull up, i know how to get on and off a train as safely as possible and even then where i get on it wont be moving because it will be crewchanging, ive made sure i have proper gear and enough food and water for my trip as well. the particular train will side out here for a crew change at the same time at the same location unless rerouted which is unlikely. ive spent alot of time ensuring my own safety as thats my main priority, im not worried about charges. im worried about my safety and quality of life and i have done my best to be absolutely certain of my ability to catch this particular train, i understand your concern, and i appricate it, but everybody starts somewhere and this is where i will personally start even at my own risk , which i am taking knowledgably and as safely as i can possibly do it. thank you for your concern though, be safe out there

 

[sevedemanos]

mornings. stay down until you get passed redding, not much to see till then anyways

 

[klamytaint101]

mornings. stay down until you get passed redding, not much to see till then anyways

i appreciate it, thank you! i was looking around today on openrailwaymap and was checking that out, seems like everything before redding is mainly farmland and small towns.

 

[sevedemanos]

careful in sacramento, ive walked through there and it can be pretty sketchy in places, particularly at night. davis yd in roseville may seem a stretch to a new rider but honestly you’d probably be a lot safer over there. the train your talking about does skip rv though and crew changes somewhere in sac. there are two nbd imds i know of though that ive seen layover in rv, on the southside / secondary main. one from dallas and one from oakland, both of which only come a couple times a week (on an “as needed” basis)

best of luck. stay sharp, keep some bear spray or something you should be fine

 

[klamytaint101]

yea sac can be bad, this train stops a little outside sac in a smaller town, i got the location from scouting youtube vids, spot seems to be relatively nice really, apparantly they started stopping here rather recently too so it seems like the spots rather chill, thanks for the tip though! will keep it in mind for sure