Hitching Trip through NY to Canada (tips?)

[archie2020]

Hey ,

So I have 2 weeks of break the beginning of august but no money to do anything fun. So i decided i would go on a hitchhiking trips north to Canada by myself just for the hell of it. I will have exactly 13 days (and I have to be back by that 13th day, CANNOT be late) and am starting at West Point and plan on going to Montreal. I have only hitched one time for one day so I am posting here looking for any advice I can get. Do you think 13 days will be enough time to be able to hitch up to Montreal and back? If not, I'll stop short. Anyone ever hitch this area and know of any good spots I should stop? I'm looking to stop at any town with a cool attraction, any cool natural parks, or any big public colleges so maybe I can link up with some girls. Also, if you have any experience with camping in bear country, please let me know anything I should know. I plan to pack a small tent and just camp along the way.

Thanks.

 

[Art101]

Congrats on being accepted to The Point.My only advice is be super fn careful about it.All it would take is one minor slip and you could lose West Point.I wish you the best and hope it goes well.

 

[Hillbilly Castro]

That's my neck of the woods, up there. The Northway is a great highway. Hitching is generally fun and easy for me, but as always, (and I'm assuming you might be green here) it depends on how you look. If you look "military" you should be able to get up to MTL in two days, maybe one. There are plenty of folks heading up straight from NYC to Montreal. Try rest areas (though avoid the Clifton Park one just north of Albany - there's a police substation there and they are not friendly). The Hitchwiki page on Albany may be useful to you.
Leaving, I'd take the Metro-North to Poughkeepsie. Everything south of there is not ideal and will just increase how long the trip takes. Once there, walk over the pedestrian bridge over the Hudson (great views) and then walk or hitch to New Paltz. Generally, I don't recommend hitching on the NYS Thruway, but I have successfully gotten out of that exit a number of times with a sign for Albany. Make big, fat, visible letters - the exit is on a curve where people move fast. New Paltz itself is a nice town, but since you have limited time, I'd skip it for now and come back when you have more time.
Once in Albany, it can be a real clusterfuck depending on where you get dropped. The best place to get to is the Colonie mall. That exit on I-87 is fucking golden. It's the first exit of the Northway, where there are no longer any tolls, and gets tons and tons of traffic. Walk down the exit (it's long) until you are next to a hotel - separated from it by a chain link fence and fly a huge sign that says "Canada" or "Far North" or "Adirondacks". You'll likely get a ride straight to Saratoga Springs (a college town full of smokin' hot ladies) - I'd hesitate to take anything that is shorter. If you can't get dropped at the Colonie Mall, get there on the CDTA bus system downtown.
From here the journey to the border should be quite easy. Recommended potential stop-offs, for a day or two: Lake Placid area is gorgeous and, though wealthy and a little pretentious, a sweet town anyway. Great hiking around Keene and Upper Jay. Plattsburgh is neat (Pizza Bono downtown is classic - get the slice with cold cheese, northern style), and taking the ferry across Lake Champlain into VT is cool. Then you can hitch route 2 up through Alburg and I've heard that that border crossing is easier. Crossing the border and beyond, I have no information, as I did not have a passport when I was tramping extensively up that way.

Anyway, all that's my two cents.
Hitching on a deadline is tough and can be stressful. It's honestly a totally different bird than regular old indefinite hitchhiking. Time will sneak up on you. But getting to MTL from where you're at will be easy and totally doable within your time frame. Have fun and if you happen to tramp over into MA in the next couple months, stop by for a beer.

 

[TheWindAndRain]

I used to take short hitch trips off from work to do this, but warmer south than you, two weeks is a good amount of time that you can go as far as you want for five days, checking things out, then turn around on day 6 and hitch back. You'll probably have a couple days off left when you get back since youll be in a hurry on your return trip. I also recommend hitchhiking at ferry crossings to find you the perfect ride. Ferry crossings are a hitchhikers paradise.

 

[archie2020]

Congrats on being accepted to The Point.My only advice is be super fn careful about it.All it would take is one minor slip and you could lose West Point.I wish you the best and hope it goes well.

Thanks man.

 

[archie2020]

I used to take short hitch trips off from work to do this, but warmer south than you, two weeks is a good amount of time that you can go as far as you want for five days, checking things out, then turn around on day 6 and hitch back. You'll probably have a couple days off left when you get back since youll be in a hurry on your return trip. I also recommend hitchhiking at ferry crossings to find you the perfect ride. Ferry crossings are a hitchhikers paradise.

'Preciate the tip

 

[archie2020]

That's my neck of the woods, up there. The Northway is a great highway. Hitching is generally fun and easy for me, but as always, (and I'm assuming you might be green here) it depends on how you look. If you look "military" you should be able to get up to MTL in two days, maybe one. There are plenty of folks heading up straight from NYC to Montreal. Try rest areas (though avoid the Clifton Park one just north of Albany - there's a police substation there and they are not friendly). The Hitchwiki page on Albany may be useful to you.
Leaving, I'd take the Metro-North to Poughkeepsie. Everything south of there is not ideal and will just increase how long the trip takes. Once there, walk over the pedestrian bridge over the Hudson (great views) and then walk or hitch to New Paltz. Generally, I don't recommend hitching on the NYS Thruway, but I have successfully gotten out of that exit a number of times with a sign for Albany. Make big, fat, visible letters - the exit is on a curve where people move fast. New Paltz itself is a nice town, but since you have limited time, I'd skip it for now and come back when you have more time.
Once in Albany, it can be a real clusterfuck depending on where you get dropped. The best place to get to is the Colonie mall. That exit on I-87 is fucking golden. It's the first exit of the Northway, where there are no longer any tolls, and gets tons and tons of traffic. Walk down the exit (it's long) until you are next to a hotel - separated from it by a chain link fence and fly a huge sign that says "Canada" or "Far North" or "Adirondacks". You'll likely get a ride straight to Saratoga Springs (a college town full of smokin' hot ladies) - I'd hesitate to take anything that is shorter. If you can't get dropped at the Colonie Mall, get there on the CDTA bus system downtown.
From here the journey to the border should be quite easy. Recommended potential stop-offs, for a day or two: Lake Placid area is gorgeous and, though wealthy and a little pretentious, a sweet town anyway. Great hiking around Keene and Upper Jay. Plattsburgh is neat (Pizza Bono downtown is classic - get the slice with cold cheese, northern style), and taking the ferry across Lake Champlain into VT is cool. Then you can hitch route 2 up through Alburg and I've heard that that border crossing is easier. Crossing the border and beyond, I have no information, as I did not have a passport when I was tramping extensively up that way.

Anyway, all that's my two cents.
Hitching on a deadline is tough and can be stressful. It's honestly a totally different bird than regular old indefinite hitchhiking. Time will sneak up on you. But getting to MTL from where you're at will be easy and totally doable within your time frame. Have fun and if you happen to tramp over into MA in the next couple months, stop by for a beer.

Thanks for all the tips man! I'm leaving right now for the trip. I'll definetly be using some of this route really appreciate it.