Budget Travel - Are you a backpacker who has hitchhiked America's highways?

Are you a backpacker who has hitchhiked America's highways?

How common is it for travellers (specifically, backpackers) to hitchhike along America's highways?

I am a backpacker. I'm planning a land-based tour of the East Coast. I'm in Miami beach right now. I'd like to work my way up Florida, through coastal routes in Georgia, the Carolinas, Virgina, Washington D.C, and up to the big cities of the Northeast (including smaller, remote places in Maine and Connineticut).

My question is can this be done by hitchhiking alone? I ask because I don't have a lot of money to spend on Greyhound or Amtrak, unless I have to. If there are routes that hitchhikers use along the East Coast, I'd like to use them too.

Thanks

p.s.
If you'd like to recommend a town, region or national park along this route, please do so here. I will research it, and If I like it, I will add as one of my stops. Of course, the route is Miami, up through Florida, Georgia, the Carolina's, Virgina's, and the coastal Northeast (including New England).


Do Americans pick up backpackers by the side of the highway (with backpack n all). I know of the dangers, but I'm a dangerous person, so it's a risk I'm willing to take. I just want to know if it's doable?

I would not recommend hitchhiking. And people do not pick up hitchhikers often
these days. You are better off with Greyhound.

I believe they have some promotions/pass you can use for a certain period


check this out:

http://www.discoverypass.com/discoverypass.usa/step1.aspx

Its hard man and in many places, illegal. I tried to hitchhike 150 miles in Ohio 20 years ago and it took me 36 hours. Near impossible.

Good luck!

What the two posters above said.

Many moons ago I hitchhiked in Europe and Canada with good success, but when I tried it in the US, didn't get very far. Actually almost nowhere, and I'm making an educated guess it's even harder today. Come to think of it, can't remember the last time I saw someone with their thumb out ...

IIRC, can't hitchhike on freeways in Fla, though you may be able to do so on the onramps, only people don't want to stop there. If you are in SoBe, go to Clay Hostel and see if anyone is looking to share a ride (look on the bulletin board), that's probably your best bet these days.

Or you can make it a true adventure, and hike the Appalachiantrail Trail (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.jkLXJ8MQKtH/b.1423119/k.BEA0/Home.htm) starting in Georgia. Should be a good time of the year, while it's not too hot in the south, and work your way up north as it gets warmer up there.

EmailKid

Are you a backpacker who has hitchhiked America's highways?
Yes. But in the 60s!

How common is it for travellers (specifically, backpackers) to hitchhike along America's highways?
Not common these days. At all.

I just want to know if it's doable?

No. Not within reason.

ya, but what am i going to do about accomodation along the trial. I use couchsurfing and hospitalityclub. I can;t stay in hotels or inns along the trial. I dont have that kind of money. I would love to do the trail, but only if there's free accomodation in towns near to the trial. It has to be convienient and cheap.

plus, where would I put my backpack (and laptop) while hikikng the trial?

ya, but what am i going to do about accomodation along the trial.

It's called a tent and a sleeping bag :D You can put your laptop under your pillow, but recharging it may be another story :eek:

EmailKid

My bag is 35lbs (mostly clothes and laptop), with a tent and a sleeping bag, it could reach 50lbs. I don't know.

Grayhound should have a sort of all-you-can-ride pass for 30 days or thereabouts.. look on their website for that.

ya its called discovery pass - 60 days unlimited for 650dollars. Only problem is the time constraint. If it was an open pass (let's say 6 months)- the length of my stay in the U.S, I would buy it. Plus, I don't even have 600 dollars.

These are different times my friend. May I suggest you try www.uship.com where you can place bids for driving other people's vehicles across America. Usually you can cover the price of gas and your expenses.

I don't think it's as impossible as others have suggested. Lots of truckers give rides to hitchhikers. They enjoy the company on the long rides. And I don't mean that in a nasty or suggestive way. Basically if you want to hitchhike a long distance just hang out at a truck stop. Look for the independent drivers because a lot of the company drivers have policies that don't allow picking up riders.

For the waiting time, you can always play Roger Waters' "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking" CD on the laptop. But unless you look like the individual on the cover (or Madonna when she did that bit), odds of success drop quite a bit.

"On the Road" might also make a good read, as might "The Dharma Bums." Assuming they haven't been covered already. In the former, rail cars were used a good bit. Dunno if it's still viable.

Trying to drive lodging costs to zero is a pretty tough goal if moving around.

I think there's something a bit Kerouackian about bottom-feeding the fare mistakes or lowest fares and trolling for bumps and other techniques to play the FF game and fly around at absolute bottom dollar, but I haven't found the way to describe it. It leads to some odd juxtapositions, like getting upgraded with status to first class on a bump-voucher-assisted free flight to Anchorage, but then taking a city bus into town to stay at the hostel with some drunks looking for work in the construction biz.

The only people who pick up hitchhikers are people who expect the hitchhiker to pay in sex. And that's the best case scenario. The last decent person I know who used to pick up hitchhikers had to quit because the hitchhikers were so used to being exploited that they were immediately jumping in the car and trying to "pay for the ride".



Are you a backpacker who has hitchhiked America's highways?

How common is it for travellers (specifically, backpackers) to hitchhike along America's highways?

I am a backpacker. I'm planning a land-based tour of the East Coast. I'm in Miami beach right now. I'd like to work my way up Florida, through coastal routes in Georgia, the Carolinas, Virgina, Washington D.C, and up to the big cities of the Northeast (including smaller, remote places in Maine and Connineticut).

My question is can this be done by hitchhiking alone? I ask because I don't have a lot of money to spend on Greyhound or Amtrak, unless I have to. If there are routes that hitchhikers use along the East Coast, I'd like to use them too.

Thanks

p.s.
If you'd like to recommend a town, region or national park along this route, please do so here. I will research it, and If I like it, I will add as one of my stops. Of course, the route is Miami, up through Florida, Georgia, the Carolina's, Virgina's, and the coastal Northeast (including New England).


Do Americans pick up backpackers by the side of the highway (with backpack n all). I know of the dangers, but I'm a dangerous person, so it's a risk I'm willing to take. I just want to know if it's doable?

The only people who pick up hitchhikers are people who expect the hitchhiker to pay in sex. And that's the best case scenario. The last decent person I know who used to pick up hitchhikers had to quit because the hitchhikers were so used to being exploited that they were immediately jumping in the car and trying to "pay for the ride".

Where is this? The only ones I generally see are weatherbeaten males of at least 30s age holding signs. I don't think they could give even Mr. Sulu any impure thoughts.

I just had a strange picture of a weather-beaten 30 year old in Mr. Sulu's lap :eek:

Hi!

I did this for almost two years; but, this was back in the early 80's.

I have MANY excellent experiences and traveled north and south across nearly all of America's Interstates.

The best success I had was sticking to the larger truck stops and once outside of large Metro Areas, the huge majority of lifts were from independent truckers.

I would suggest a few things.

One: Make signs with your destination and do not just use your thumb;

Two: Be picky and chose your rides based on where they are going. If it is not where you are headed just pass. On several occasions I had passed on small rides only to later get long cross country rides i.e. Denver to my front door in New York, Hartford to my front door as well; and, San Diego to Baltimore.

Three: Stay away from large metro areas unless you have a good inter-city bus map. Reference above, pass on a ride if they are headed to a city short of your destination or ask to be dropped off before/after the city.

Four: Stay on the on-ramp on not on the highway itself.

Five: Grab the odd job along the way. I worked for a North American Van Lines trucker for a few months, got me where I was going and put a little dough in my pocket. Also worked as a geophysical engineer helper in Wyoming and Montana; cleaning dishes at several truck stops; Park Service in California, etc.

It is a different world; but, I see it done. Not nearly with the frequency of the past for many reasons. When I was in the Pacific Northwest, the Green River killer was in his prime and it totally threw the HH transport network to a standstill with hundreds of hikers stacked up all over the place.

You will be pulled over lots, so be sure your record and you documentation is clean and clear.

I still do this on occasion i.e. through Glacier Park and across Montana most recently. Even though I can easily afford train or plane, it is an amazing way to connect with people.


Good Luck!

Don't be put off by the alarmist sentiment displayed in this thread. If you're comfortable with hitchhiking, by all means do it!^ Twenty years ago, I would occasionally hitchhike from my college town to my hometown. No driver was any stranger than me. mjcasta's suggestions seem well reasoned.

Your hitchhiking experiences will enrich your life in a way the HH alarmists can't even imagine.^

Your hitchhiking experiences will enrich your life in a way the HH alarmists can't even imagine.^
I think you are missing the main point of us "alarmists." Nothing is going to enrich anyone's life if they don't get a ride. These days it's very difficult to get anyone to actually into their car, so it may take a LONG time to get anywhere because most of the time will be spent waiting ....

EmailKid

In 1981, one of my college roommates hitchhiked his way to college from Los Angeles to Boston (Harvard).

Here in Marin County (San Francisco), hitchhiking seems to be fairly common & safe. However, I've only picked up hitchhikers twice. Even my friends on extremely tight budgets almost never hitchhike.

What about buying an old $200 car? You could sleep in the car & camp. In some cities there are regulations like "no sleeping in cars between 3-5 am". One way around that is to sleep in a business parking lot until 5 am, then move onto the street.

Most people don't advise hitchhiking or sleeping in cars...but I'd say sleeping in cars is 10-20X more common than hitchhiking among my friends.

Consider a 24-Hr Fitness or Bally's club membership for showers & hot tubs. When you have more money, pay $500-750 for the first 2-3 years and drive the annual cost down to $20-60/yr. My 24 Hr Fitness membership is only $20/yr. For now, try to find a membership special when there's no signup fee for new members - hopefully $19-29/month. Look on their websites to see which cities they cover. 24 Hr Fitness doesn't cover the US as well as Bally's, but 90% of their places are open 24 hrs and they have more hot tubs.

Get running race schedules before you start traveling. Often there are free food booths (energy bars, drinks) at the races Sat/Sun mornings...but remember that races are early, and everything may be packed up by 10 am.

Buy a metal security net to go around your backpack, a heavy bicycle cable-lock (for bus & train stations, and longer-term locking your stuff), some thin cable-locks (short-term locking your luggage), master U-lock (for gym/hostel lockers), and tiny padlocks with long Us (for luggage and gym/hostel lockers).

In my budget travel, I try to keep costs at $35/day. Hostels or hotel specials ($3-34/day). Rental cars ($17-27/day). My lodging costs on-the-road end up around $200-300/month.

In some foreign countries like Egypt, Israel, Central America, Eastern Europe, and China, I can travel at $10-20/day...but I usually can't do that in the US unless I'm camping and driving my own car (exception is with free hotel stays courtesy of Expedia or Las Vegas).

NYC is the toughest for hostels $28-34 for my 3 favorite hostels.
And most out-of-the-way US places where you're headed simply have no hostels (unlike Europe).

I don't have experience with super-cheap US travels. Keep us posted with your adventures...

Good luck!

Have you considered trying an ultra-cheap travel company like Green Tortoise (http://www.greentortoise.com/)? They do several trips from a few days to nearly a month long that crisscross the the country. TrekAmerica (http://www.trekamerica.com) also does tours that last up to 40 days, but it's a little more expensive.

As for hitchhiking, it's not very common in the states, particulary near the metro areas. I second the opinion of getting a Greyhound pass if you want to go that route.

Good luck!

Sorry for the late reply to your post. This is the Gulf Coast (Texas to Mississippi region). Yes, the hitchers are frequently older, unattractive, unwashed males but somehow they think people want sex with them anyway. People like that make it impossible for decent people to take a chance. Also, I know of a driver arrested in Gulfport because they saw him pick up a hitchhiker. He was charged with patronizing a prostitute. Whether you agree the police had a point or not in assuming anyone picking up a hitcher was up to no good, he ended up having to pay the fine and having the arrest record. Why would a decent person risk it? That leaves the job of picking up hitchers to the stupid people, the drunks, the serial rapists, and the thrill killers. I wouldn't much want any of these driving me around. No doubt anyone picking up a hitchhiker in Northern California is Mother Theresa herself, but most of the country is not Northern California.

Where is this? The only ones I generally see are weatherbeaten males of at least 30s age holding signs. I don't think they could give even Mr. Sulu any impure thoughts.

Kudos to mjcasta for a great post - good tips.

I haven't done myself in a while but I did once get from NYC to five miles from my girlfriends house in Rochester, MI in just over a day. I've always enjoyed it and I pick up people when I can.

As mjcasta said:

1) a sign is key- I usually put the destination in big letters and "Thanks" in smallerprint. I usually chose a destination a few hours away. People might not want to commit to a long distance. If you get in the car and find out they're going further and they realize you're personable then you might get further.
[Also - keep a stash of appropriate sized cardboard and a large black magic marker in your bag]

2) I found on-ramps the best spot. Make sure you're in front of the sign that says no pedestrians past this point. If you're not taking highways then the far side of a red light or stop sign is good too.

3) key point- make sure that there's room for a car to pull over!

4) Once you're in the vehicle - be socialable. If people pick you up they'd probably like some conversation.

5) Be willing to not take a ride if it doesn't feel right.

6) Keep your bag in the backseat as opposed to the trunk - harder for someone to drive off with it. Never happened to me but it's a tip I heard once.

7) Cities are tough - if you're in one you usually have to take a bus out to a spot on a highway.

8) While waiting - keep standing - look clean - a backpack with a foreign flag on it is helpful. Smile.

9) When you hit those inevitable bad spots when no one picks you up for a few hours - don't get angry at people - you're asking them for a favor.

But in all my experience I've never had a bad ride. I've more often found that people will go out of their way to help you.

Good luck.

P.S. I do remember a book a few years ago about a guy who tried to travel around America with no money. No idea of the name but it could be a helpful read.

Picked up hitchhikers in Costa Rica, used to in USA. Would never consider now, even though I live in rural area. leave keys in car, house unlocked. Just a different world now. But you could "pre-hitch" using college bulletin boards, the internet, etc. There used to be a board for hitching plane rides, maybe sill exists. Nothing like a reference (like globalfreeloaders.com). I don't know if there is an equivalent for hitchhikers, but I bet there is. Maybe craigslist? Good luck.^