never hitchhiked in my life

cixcell

cixcell

New member
Considering hitchhiking from mesa arizona to florida. I have more friends in florida and none in arizona so I am kinda stuck and despite trying to immaculately clean their home my friends gf wants me out and she controls him. So I'm getting pushed out while the world is in chaos. advice? i know you old souls have alot of combined experience. I am a rookie who was formerly a tech worker.
 
Pack light.
Be (or at least look) as clean as possible.
Expect to walk a lot. Plan for it unless you don't mind staying in one spot for a while waiting for a ride.
Don't do ANYTHING without the driver's permission. Ask before rolling window, smoking, taking your shoes off, etc.
If a driver wants to talk, talk. That's a very fair payment for a free ride. If they want silence, don't bother them.
Don't be afraid to turn down a ride if you have bad vibes.
Most truckers drive for companies. Companies don't allow passengers, so very few will pick you up.
Lots of water! Lots of calories! If you're walking a lot with a pack, you'll need these!
Walking the interstates makes it easier to get a ride, but it's illegal. Weigh the risk. You WILL have cops pull you over. If you have problems with authorities, don't bother. You WILL see them. They'll usually drive you to an exit or a truck stop/gas station if you're able to keep a cool head.

I'm bored of writing this. If you have specific questions, ask and either me or someone else will happily answer.

Good luck!
 
Some places are more stricts than others. Bring your smile, be optimistic. Lots of water. A sign can be useful but i dont carry one for some reasons. Cops will tolerate you in highway entries (sorry my english), but not directly on freeways.
 
Can always give ride-sharing a try on Craigslist. Mesa to Florida is actually a pretty common run for a lot of dessert hippies. A little late but lots of people head that way after the gem shows.
 
We have VERY very many resources on hitchhiking in this 'hitchhiking' forum. Look through it. I know for a fact most of your questions can be answered here.

Use the 'search' feature via the search icon at the top of the page....and use the 'advanced search' feature for more specific content, where you can search the 'hitchhiking' section for any questions you might have.

Good luck! Other users have posted great information in response to your post.
 
cixcell said:
Considering hitchhiking from mesa arizona to florida. I have more friends in florida and none in arizona so I am kinda stuck and despite trying to immaculately clean their home my friends gf wants me out and she controls him. So I'm getting pushed out while the world is in chaos. advice? i know you old souls have alot of combined experience. I am a rookie who was formerly a tech worker.
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I-10 in the summer, so fun!!!!
 
besides using the search function and what others have mentioned....i will add - try to find a good spot for the driver to drop you off at ahead of time. not every driver that picks you up has hitchhiked before or knows what it's about, and they might try to drop you off at a deserted spot or one that has a shitty on ramp, and then you're stuck.
 
iamwhatiam said:
besides using the search function and what others have mentioned....i will add - try to find a good spot for the driver to drop you off at ahead of time. not every driver that picks you up has hitchhiked before or knows what it's about, and they might try to drop you off at a deserted spot or one that has a shitty on ramp, and then you're stuck.
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Ya people not knowing how hitchhiking works is probably the most frustrating part about it imo.

Turn down rides going short distances if youre in a good spot with lots of traffic and a place for people to pull over.

If youre in a shitty spot then its the opposite and any miles help.
 
Bushpig said:
Ewwwww. Hitchhiking is fine. If I, a colored guy, could get rides from racist Trump supporters ("I'm not racist. Three only people I have a problem with are the ragheads."), then anybody can.
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Ya prob true. Just felt like bein a smart ass lol.
 
iamwhatiam said:
besides using the search function and what others have mentioned....i will add - try to find a good spot for the driver to drop you off at ahead of time. not every driver that picks you up has hitchhiked before or knows what it's about, and they might try to drop you off at a deserted spot or one that has a shitty on ramp, and then you're stuck.
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Yo for real, one of my longest waits was caused by an old man that dropped me off where he thought was a good spot but in reality there was really not much traffic and no one going far. Eventually after 2 beers and an hour and a half of waiting in the sun I got picked up by a dude in his early 30’s. It always helps to have coffee change with you as well, example being this guy was falling asleep a bit and not much of a talker, so I brought up stopping to get coffees for him and I two or three times when finally they took me up on the offer and woke up again aha. Stay safe, use your judgement and if all feels sketchy demand a piss break and gtfo.
 
Bushpig said:
Walking the interstates makes it easier to get a ride, but it's illegal.
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Generally speaking this is true. There are a few exceptions though. In Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, and Idaho it's legal to walk on the interstate. I think Texas too outside of big cities. Might be a couple others but not sure.
 
Snot Rocket said:
Generally speaking this is true. There are a few exceptions though. In Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, and Idaho it's legal to walk on the interstate. I think Texas too outside of big cities. Might be a couple others but not sure.
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If its illegal you might be able to walk within a certain distance of the freeway. Also i think its usually legal to walk on the left side of the freeway. Atleast thats what i read somewhere.
Anyway its best to look up all the laws and stuff first before hitchhiking in a place, so that if a cop tries to tell you its illegal you can be like no i looked it up. That happened to me in Kansas once when a cop tried to tell me its illegal in the whole state when i was hitching a back highway.
Also if its illegal to walk on the freeway they might not enforce it so i do it anyway if i have to. If they do enforce it then you might score a ride from a cop or highway maintenance worker that kicks you off.
 
SWAMPxASSx420 said:
Eventually after 2 beers and an hour and a half of waiting in the sun I got picked up by a dude in his early 30’s.
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No offense, but if you think 1.5 hours of waiting is a long time, you've never been to a bad hitchhiking spot.

spend 2-3 days in 8 hour shifts watching 1000's of people with one driver and plenty of seats to spare pass you by and you'll be seriously questioning your faith in humanity.
 
Matt Derrick said:
No offense, but if you think 1.5 hours of waiting is a long time, you've never been to a bad hitchhiking spot.

spend 2-3 days in 8 hour shifts watching 1000's of people with one driver and plenty of seats to spare pass you by and you'll be seriously questioning your faith in humanity.
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Important point I didn’t mention: I’m from Canada and people tend to be pretty generous with rides especially in Quebec. No offense taken I realize I’ve been stupid lucky with hitching. Also I’d like to add sunscreen if that wasn’t mentioned already to stuff to bring.
 
Sunscreen would be absolutely crucial. My absolute worst experience hitching was trying to get out of Mesa. This time of year, I got out there when the sun rose to try and eliminate having to be in the heat.. didn't help at all. I stood on a very active onramp with excellent room to pull over, it was actually a spot where cars were backed up and needed a light to proceed onto the highway so I had people literally parked next to me waiting to enter the highway.

I stood there in the blistering sun from the moment it had risen till sundown. I never got a ride out of there. I've never been so sunburned. I had massive puss blisters all over my skin by the next day. Probably gonna develop skin cancer at some point from that day. It made me hate that state and anyone who lived there(just for that day, I got over it). I just couldn't believe so many people could pass me by, knowing it was 114 degrees and knowing I was melting. I ended up taking a small shuttle bus service up to Flagstaff the next day and getting out from there.

Hope you have better luck than I did getting out of Mesa. Safe travels.
 
As someone said above pack small with the basic needs. Water, sleeping bag, food, markers, and a change of clothing. If I don't get a ride within 3 hours I start walking the interstate. Somebody will pick you up eventually even if it's the state police.
 
U know Texas and Florida are the worst plague-hit places to go right now right? Like that's become the most dangerous part of the country, and having corona once doesn't mean you can't get it again.
 
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