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imwastinglife

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Hey everybody! I’m happy to have found this form I can already tell there’s a ton of great info on here. I’m T, 24m from Boston and am planning to hit the road and hitch hike from here in Boston to somewhere in Cali and back this summer. I’ve grown up reading about and dreaming about travel from people like Jack Kerouac and can’t help but feel like a trip like this is something I need to do and will forever regret if I don’t at least try.


I’ve done some small road trip before sleeping out of my car and spent 3 weeks last summer living in my Tahoe in Manhattan so I’ve done some traveling before but the furthest I’ve been was to Tennessee a few years ago I drove down with a friend to see the solar eclipse. Travel has always been something I look forward to but everytime it give me a ton of anxiety too. I don’t have an amazing life here at home but I do miss my family, my bed and my pets and for some reason when I’ve traveled before I get this feeling that I’m leaving something great and when I come back it’ll be different, does that make sense?


I want to see more of this country but I’m dead broke, I had to sell my car and I owe so much to the gov that I won’t be able to register another one for awhile I won’t have much money for many train or bus tickets and not many if any motel rooms. Seeing the country by hitchhiking seems like an amazing experience that people who have done it, tell me they don’t regret. But I’m still nervous about it and afraid I’ll never have the balls to get out there and do it. I don’t want to appropriate anyones lifestyle so I’m sorry if it comes across that way I just want to share in an experience that I feel like I need to grow up I’m called to it.


Anyway I figured I’d make this post to introduce myself as I’ll probably be asking some questions and reading a lot trying to learn, hope it’s not too long winded. Thanks everyone.
 

transcendentalhobo

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I think things change whether you want them to or not, but a good Road Trip might make the East Coast seem better after all, but you won't know unless you at least try to make it out west. It reads like you know what you need to do! Good luck!
 
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imwastinglife

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Welcome yeah sorry about your car that sucks...but just ask questions all of us will be glad to answer them

Yeah the truck dying sucked I pushed my luck so far in it and it all came crashing down at the same time I had to sell it on my bday for $300 to a scrap yard such a bummer. In a way it’s a blessing in disguise because I feel like a trip hitch hiking will be more difficult but rewarding than a regular road trip.
 

imwastinglife

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I think things change whether you want them to or not, but a good Road Trip might make the East Coast seem better after all, but you won't know unless you at least try to make it out west. It reads like you know what you need to do! Good luck!

True that things keep changing wether I want them to or not, change is something I constantly fight and chase at the same time it’s a weird thing. I don’t have any problems with the East Coast the opposite actually I love the East Coast but I just want to see more things I never have in person before. This is such a vast diverse country it’d be a shame to not get out there and see it but still fear is holding me back. I hope I can overcome the fear when the time comes otherwise I don’t think I’ll forgive myself
 
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Hobeau

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Hey everybody! I’m happy to have found this form I can already tell there’s a ton of great info on here. I’m T, 24m from Boston and am planning to hit the road and hitch hike from here in Boston to somewhere in Cali and back this summer. I’ve grown up reading about and dreaming about travel from people like Jack Kerouac and can’t help but feel like a trip like this is something I need to do and will forever regret if I don’t at least try.


I’ve done some small road trip before sleeping out of my car and spent 3 weeks last summer living in my Tahoe in Manhattan so I’ve done some traveling before but the furthest I’ve been was to Tennessee a few years ago I drove down with a friend to see the solar eclipse. Travel has always been something I look forward to but everytime it give me a ton of anxiety too. I don’t have an amazing life here at home but I do miss my family, my bed and my pets and for some reason when I’ve traveled before I get this feeling that I’m leaving something great and when I come back it’ll be different, does that make sense?


I want to see more of this country but I’m dead broke, I had to sell my car and I owe so much to the gov that I won’t be able to register another one for awhile I won’t have much money for many train or bus tickets and not many if any motel rooms. Seeing the country by hitchhiking seems like an amazing experience that people who have done it, tell me they don’t regret. But I’m still nervous about it and afraid I’ll never have the balls to get out there and do it. I don’t want to appropriate anyones lifestyle so I’m sorry if it comes across that way I just want to share in an experience that I feel like I need to grow up I’m called to it.


Anyway I figured I’d make this post to introduce myself as I’ll probably be asking some questions and reading a lot trying to learn, hope it’s not too long winded. Thanks everyone.

Carry a hunting knife on your hip.
Never go to sleep in the car - you may wake up in someone's "secret basement".
Never hitchhike after dark - you can't see them reaching for a gun.
Hitching with girls will get you rides faster, but girls are predator magnets.
 
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imwastinglife

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Carry a hunting knife on your hip.
Never go to sleep in the car - you may wake up in someone's "secret basement".
Never hitchhike after dark - you can't see them reaching for a gun.
Hitching with girls will get you rides faster, but girls are predator magnets.

A hunting knife on my hip? I was gonna keep one tucked in the pack but worn on my hip seems aggressive. Are predators common hitchhiking? I’m a guy but I’ve actually had some fucked up experiences with old gay dudes coming onto me in the past that I don’t want to repeat obviously. Prob my biggest fear catching rides honestly
 
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roughdraft

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A hunting knife on my hip? I was gonna keep one tucked in the pack but worn on my hip seems aggressive. Are predators common hitchhiking? I’m a guy but I’ve actually had some fucked up experiences with old gay dudes coming onto me in the past that I don’t want to repeat obviously. Prob my biggest fear catching rides honestly

there's a difference between being aggressive and being assertive. just be prepared. what's it do in your pack? maybe find a middle place in terms of accessibility between the hip and the pack
 
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transcendentalhobo

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A hunting knife on my hip? I was gonna keep one tucked in the pack but worn on my hip seems aggressive. Are predators common hitchhiking? I’m a guy but I’ve actually had some fucked up experiences with old gay dudes coming onto me in the past that I don’t want to repeat obviously. Prob my biggest fear catching rides honestly

Have you read any of the threads on here about weapons yet? I think the golden rule, probably mentioned elsewhere is to ask if a weapon you pull is more likely to get you disarmed and stabbed with your own knife (or whatever)?

It's totally normal in my experience for cool drivers to ask, "No drugs or weapons?" before they let me in their vehicle, and it's also totally normal for cool drivers to have me put my packs in their trunk. I hitchhiked a fair amount from 2013-'17, and a little before and after. Never carried a weapon, and the one hella sketchy driver I did have probably could have disarmed me.

And sorry if you've read this in another thread, but maybe the one other thing I would stress, if you find yourself hitching from a gas station or somewhere else not on the entrance ramp you want, please, please make sure the driver is headed in the right direction, it's a quick one a total sketch ball might try to pull on you to isolate you quickly.
 
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Hobeau

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A hunting knife on my hip? I was gonna keep one tucked in the pack but worn on my hip seems aggressive. Are predators common hitchhiking? I’m a guy but I’ve actually had some fucked up experiences with old gay dudes coming onto me in the past that I don’t want to repeat obviously. Prob my biggest fear catching rides honestly

I know a guy who was picked up by a serial killer who tried to kidnap him and his girl at gunpoint.
They ditched and got away, but if they didn't we would have never known.
Can't defend yourself with a knife buried in your pack.
 
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imwastinglife

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Have you read any of the threads on here about weapons yet? I think the golden rule, probably mentioned elsewhere is to ask if a weapon you pull is more likely to get you disarmed and stabbed with your own knife (or whatever)?

It's totally normal in my experience for cool drivers to ask, "No drugs or weapons?" before they let me in their vehicle, and it's also totally normal for cool drivers to have me put my packs in their trunk. I hitchhiked a fair amount from 2013-'17, and a little before and after. Never carried a weapon, and the one hella sketchy driver I did have probably could have disarmed me.

And sorry if you've read this in another thread, but maybe the one other thing I would stress, if you find yourself hitching from a gas station or somewhere else not on the entrance ramp you want, please, please make sure the driver is headed in the right direction, it's a quick one a total sketch ball might try to pull on you to isolate you quickly.

Yeah reading through here most threads I see that it’s not smart to bring any weapons that’s why I was surprised to see someone tell me to wear a combat knife on my hip. Plus the high chance of talking to cops mean I don’t want to tote around any weapons.


Drugs are another thing, how safe is it to have some weed on you? Is it a bad idea and do you tend to find weed often on the road? I love to smoke so it’s one thing I’ll miss traveling.


As for being taken far out of the way by drivers with bad intentions how common is that? Definitely could be a bad scenario. I’m planning to only ride with people during the day and camp out over nights.

Thanks for the help.
 

imwastinglife

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I know a guy who was picked up by a serial killer who tried to kidnap him and his girl at gunpoint.
They ditched and got away, but if they didn't we would have never known.
Can't defend yourself with a knife buried in your pack.

I just feel like carrying around a weapon is more likely to get me in trouble. That’s what I’ve read mostly too so I don’t know now. I feel like carrying a weapon is asking for trouble. I have a gun I could bring but I just know it’s asking for trouble.
 
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transcendentalhobo

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Yeah reading through here most threads I see that it’s not smart to bring any weapons that’s why I was surprised to see someone tell me to wear a combat knife on my hip. Plus the high chance of talking to cops mean I don’t want to tote around any weapons.


Drugs are another thing, how safe is it to have some weed on you? Is it a bad idea and do you tend to find weed often on the road? I love to smoke so it’s one thing I’ll miss traveling.


As for being taken far out of the way by drivers with bad intentions how common is that? Definitely could be a bad scenario. I’m planning to only ride with people during the day and camp out over nights.

Thanks for the help.

I'm coming to think in life in general, context is everything. A lot of people in the Pacific Northwest and Arizona have knives on their hips, it's normalish, I just know a lot of cool drivers would've passed me up if I rocked that style, and I probably would have gotten stabbed with my own knife in East St. Louis when I lost most of my gear in my second last hitch hiking trip.

I don't know how common it is, I've heard horror stories and the one time it happened to me I was flying a sign at truck stop in East St. Louis and I was sort of disoriented because I had been dropped off there at night, a bit away from the Interstates. But as they say, it only takes once, and almost all my gear was in this dude's trunk. It's no mistake I've only been on one hitch hiking trip since then! I had a good run, and of course I'd do it again if I had to.

Half or so of the drivers who've picked me up have offered to smoke me out, and one told me I was the first hitch hiker he ever picked up in some 16 years of driving who didn't smoke weed! It's legal now on the whole west coast and Arizona, my stomping grounds for the most part, though you still have to be aware of Border Patrol since they are federal and have had road blocks on Interstates in the border states like the 8 between San Diego, CA and Yuma, AZ.
 

Hobeau

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I just feel like carrying around a weapon is more likely to get me in trouble. That’s what I’ve read mostly too so I don’t know now. I feel like carrying a weapon is asking for trouble. I have a gun I could bring but I just know it’s asking for trouble.

Carrying a weapon dissuades trouble.
People won't want to jump if they know there's risk.
 

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