|
I spent 9 years in my 20's hitchhiking around the US (31 years old as of posting). I have lived in 30 states, and traveled to 37. Most of this was done rubber tramping (in vehicles, almost exclusively not my own), but I have drunkenly hopped on a freight train once or twice. I've lived in some rather unusual situations, and spent a good amount of time residing in national forestry for extended periods. I have had some wonderful and bewildering experiences. Been robbed at knife point by an Oxycontin-addicted lesbian couple in the mountains of Colorado, had police beat me to the point where I couldn't walk (and then drop me off a state over with no charges), had sex in odd places with interesting travelers, drunkenly tattooed my face and hands in a field with a band of gypsy musicians, studied Tibetan Buddhism in a school where orgies were a somewhat regular party occurrence, been involved with the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army during protests, started mobile food and clothing distribution centers. The list is rather lengthy, and these are just a few. A Couple of Useful Resources: http://www.ic.org/directory/ - Intentional Communities Directory. Cooperatives, farms, and communes. Most accept work trade for room and board. https://www.nasco.coop/ - Student/Non-Student Cooperative Housing. North America. Most accept work trade. Very cheap rent if that's the route you take. http://www.wwoof.net/ - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Work trade. Housing and organic food. https://www.couchsurfing.com/ - Create a profile, and host or find a spot to crash. Usually short term (couple of days to a week), but there are opportunities for longer term stays. Terminus posted:Also, in case anyone was wondering about the couchsurfer link, my friends would host couchsurfers on occasion and they all were super nice and happy people from all over. We had people from a few states over stay so they could see a concert, some travelers from Columbia who took over my friends kitchen so they could thank them with cooking, and a British guy who had been in Burma for 5 years that we helped catch up on internet memes. https://craigslist.org/ - Navigate to your local (or destination) location, and search the 'Rideshare' section. This has saved my rear end more times than I can count. http://foodnotbombs.net/new_site/ - Food Not Bombs. Ignore the FAQ - they totally dumpster their food. http://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/ - The Rainbow Family event calendar. Regionals are held around the world year-round. US Nationals are held annually, on the month surrounding Independence Day, at a different national forest each year. World Gatherings occur across the globe. 
Crimewave fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Apr 7, 2016 |
#
?
Apr 6, 2016 23:33
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 11:23 |
|
|
Where's the money come from? I get it that you can hitch rides and "camp" in national forests for free, but the guitar, the hammock, the tarp, the sleeping bag, and presumably the food all would seem to require money.
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2016 03:02
|
|
|
I expected this to be one of the first questions. The guitar was my girlfriends and sleeping bag and tarp were bartered for. In the traveler community (Burning Man // Rainbow Family), there is a pretty solid barter economy, and even high-end gifts are a common thing. I can't even remember a single time I had to pay for drugs when I was on the road. Food is an interesting thing, and I'm sure there are varied opinions on this. A lot of us would dumpster dive organic grocery stores for quality food. It's actually also how we managed to start up Food Not Bombs (ad hoc, decentralized soup kitchen, essentially) in many states. A lot of people supplement with food stamps. Again, many different (and I'm sure passionate) opinions are held on this. $ -- the big question. I personally am an artist, and got by (rather luxuriously) on my crafts. I would make jewelry (feathered earrings that maybe cost me 75 cents would turn into $55 in the ski resort towns or other touristy spots. I wire wrap/metalsmith rings, pendants, and so on. Those bring in a nice amount as well. Henna was my main shindig, though. In Omaha, NE of all places would net me around ~$2,000 a weekend, every weekend, throughout the summer and even a bit into the fall season. On the lower end, just setting up on a corner in a less-prosperous location would still produce anywhere from $50-200 a day. I was terrible with my money. Just terrible. Now, a LOT of vagabonds do what's referred to as 'Spanging'. Stands for 'Spare-Changing'. These people honestly pissed me off sometimes, because in some of the less henna-successful areas they'd make hundreds just flying signs. 'Flying a Sign' is just a phrase for grabbing whatever makeshift canvas you can find, then writing on it that you want money. There is an art to this, for sure. And there are a couple of things people can do to multiply their profits. Having an animal with you. Especially a young animal. Dogs are the most common, but I've seen rats, cats, ferrets, and even a bunny. All, except the rabbit, were trained to ride on peoples packs. Or having girls with you. Especially cute girls. And the dirtier and stankier people were, the more money they made. I knew train riders who smelled <beyond words>. Again, the spanging thing was never my bag. But it's a SUPER lucrative way to get by. And comfortably, at that.
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2016 04:03
|
|
|
Interesting-- some friends from high school did something similar to this, but I never knew them well enough to ask about the mechanics. How often did you move around, and how easy was it to find rides? How much of the time did you live outdoors, and how did you manage that? What were you doing before being a traveler, and what are you doing now? What got you into it and why did you leave?
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2016 05:19
|
|
|
In what sort of ways did this affect your health, I admit it's all I can think of for people in this lifestyle, even more so than the money issue.
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2016 05:31
|
|
|
RapturesoftheDeep posted:How often did you move around, and how easy was it to find rides? I move quite often. I definitely had wanderlust up until recently, and would actually get antsy if I was in one place for too long. I'd say a couple of week to a couple of months was the average stay. I lived in Oregon for quite awhile. That's how much I adore this state. So much, so that I've moved back here. Rides were easy. Ridiculously easy. Sometimes I'd be walking near highway ramps and people would pull over and offer me rides, without even properly holding out my thumb or a sign with my destination. People are really chill in some spots (like the Northern California/Oregon highways. Some parts of Colorado) that they'd have a full car, and STILL pull over to offer money, food, or weed. I didn't smoke very much on the road, though. Not when I was hitching. Craigslist was always fruitful. And never had to stand on a highway very long. If you're thumbin' it, and you're male, it's best to be clean shaven, not too dirty, or with a female. Well, the photo included on my original post is from Roosevelt National Forestry. That's the longest one-stop-stay. I lived in that forest for 8 months, with minimal hitches into town (Nederland, CO) for food. How did I manage it? Hrm. Well, there wasn't much to manage. Bury your poo poo, boil your water, and regularly wash your junk. It did get cold. So much so, that a friend we'd met in town and I were discussing how it was such a pain to get out of our sleeping bags -- and we came up with a master plan to alleviate the stress. We'd design a hammock/sleeping bag pee-tube contraption so we wouldn't have to get up at night to go relieve ourselves. The bonus was that the pee system would run these tubes directly down your body, emptying into a ditch that would drain downhill. That way, as the urine passed over your body, it'd provide a temporary boost in heat. Yeah. Other than that, wasn't much to it. No one got seriously injured. Never got attacked by wild animals. Had a blast. And those mountain are gorgeous. Before I was a traveler, I was living with my ex-girlfriend and her hippie mom on a lake. I moved away from home at 15, and in with them. I was basically married to this girl from 15-18 or 19. Her mom bought us condoms, and gave us weed. And let us share a bedroom. That was awesome. After that, I was partying and eventually crashing at a place called The Stray Cat, in KC, MO. It was downtown. Surrounded by pretty much just parking garages and violent hobos. We'd throw raves at the eventspace, and lived off of dumpster-dived danishes. I remember that for a solid two months, 99.9% of the danishes retrieved on those mission were all strawberry -- but once in a great while we'd find a LONE container with a box or two of mixed berry. Everyone would argue over who got to eat the mixed berry danishes. Good times. It was in The Stray Cat that I met a tweaker girl with blonde dreadlocks named 'Angel'. We both took ecstasy (you know, the old school pressed pills with ???? ingredients) and she took me home to a place she was crashing at. Turns out she smoked meth and would go on and on about these 'portals' she kept seeing in trees. Anyhow, she brought me to a house in downtown which was referred to as a 'Rainbow House'. The people living there identified as 'Rainbow Family', and were mostly full-time travelers. I'd heard of these people back in my 9th visual basic course. I had taken LSD before school, and ended up online, looking up the Grateful Dead history, and stumbled upon their homepage, "Welcome Home". I ended up moving out of the rave spot, and in with the Rainbows. I ate more LSD than in all of the rest of my life combined. So much so, that it took a solid year or two afterwards to sort of balance out. I thought satellites where guiding my movements, and was very paranoid. Anyways, they explained to me that there was an entire subculture of modern gypsies. I had already considered hitchhiking when I had that LSD discovery of the Rainbow Family webpage, but didn't think I could pull it off. Until I was introduced to the culture. Pretty shortly after that, met a seasoned traveler girl. We started dating. She was 30, and had a lot of road experience. She took me to my first Rainbow Gathering, and after that -- I was out. Met some awesome folks in Omaha (where her and I had temporarily moved) who gave me a rideshare to an anarcho-punk farm outside Vermillion, SD. From there, I caught a lift to Colorado, and on and on and on I went. Why did I stop traveling? Well, I got burned out. After I quit drinking, a lot of my energy went along with it. I enrolled in college, and now study information security. I plan on working on open source security/anonymity projects. But, my traveling days aren't over. Once I receive a Bachelor's degree, I will move to Scandinavia long term (hopefully permanently) and finish out a Master's while working on projects. And hitchhiking across Finland/Norway/Denmark/Sweden is number 1 on my graduation list before re-enrolling in school.
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2016 07:25
|
|
|
Scudworth posted:In what sort of ways did this affect your health, I admit it's all I can think of for people in this lifestyle, even more so than the money issue. Ok, well humans are very resilient. So, on the physical side, I was just fine. Sure, a few bros knocked me out in bars (shoulda known not to be in so of those places), and I have a few scars from the crazy girls I was dating -- but overall, I'm in good health. The real health consequence, for me, was the alcohol. That's one thing about the traveling community. Lots of drug addicts and alcoholics. But same is true anywhere else. I picked up a drinking habit after dating the girl I mentioned in my last answer post. The girl that brought me on the road for my first time. She woke up and drank a six pack then by afternoon it was whiskey until passing out. And I love crazy women. It's entertaining, keeps me on my toes, and the sex is nice. However, a lot of those crazy women also had drinking problems. I never got hooked into other drugs for too long. I've tried 'em all, but alcohol I drank on a regular basis for most of that time. By the end of it, I wasn't really eating, was not drinking much water, and was waking up to a handle of liquor. This eventually landed me in the hospital when I ran out of booze one day, and I was having seizures and hallucinating. So, I suppose it was a personal problem, but at the same time when that was the fuel that propelled my journeys -- it was almost like the 'road toll' for me. In part, it was definitely a side effect of lifestyle. And when you don't have to even keep track of what month it is, let alone year, it's really easy to get sucked into being chronically inebriated. I've recovered from that. Quit smoking, and don't drink. Saw an Rx for a checkup as recently as a few months ago, and health was looking solid.
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2016 07:34
|
|
|
I feel like there are a lot of people in TCC who could learn something from this thread
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2016 11:49
|
|
|
You said that North Cali and Oregon were some of your favorite areas, but were there any places you really didn't like or seemed to make a habit of treating you poorly? Also, in case anyone was wondering about the couchsurfer link, my friends would host couchsurfers on occasion and they all were super nice and happy people from all over. We had people from a few states over stay so they could see a concert, some travelers from Columbia who took over my friends kitchen so they could thank them with cooking, and a British guy who had been in Burma for 5 years that we helped catch up on internet memes.
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2016 19:34
|
|
|
Terminus posted:You said that North Cali and Oregon were some of your favorite areas, but were there any places you really didn't like or seemed to make a habit of treating you poorly? There are most certainly parts of the country to stay away from. Generally speaking, the stereotypes about regions are somewhat accurate. I will attempt to give holistic impressions rather than just saying "place bad. me no go there'. The police forces in Arizona are notoriously aggressive towards homeless people. To the point of senseless murder. It's a real problem. On the other hand, Tuscon is an incredible experience, and much of the traveler community migrates there for the Gem and Mineral Show in February. Texas is fine if you're in a spot like Austin, and avoid areas like Houston and Dallas. Texas is an interesting place though. Driving through it once, we saw a taxidermy shop with a full grown zebra hanging upside down, footless and headless, bleeding out into a huge bucket on the ground. Turns out that the local ranchers get tax breaks or something for housing exotic animals. Sometimes they escape and run onto the highway system. Although I personally did not have any issues the ONE time I went to Florida, it has a reputation in the traveler community of being a cesspool of awful. It also houses the one regional Rainbow Gathering (in February, outside of Ocala) that regularly produces stories of violence and theft. In general, I stay away from the East Coast as a whole. There are a few spots that are known for being safe and laid back (like Asheville, NC). I think there is something to be said for Westward Expansion birthing more and more dissent from the federal government the further West we went. Denver is kinda grimy in my opinion. And Kansas City is one of the more dangerous spots. KC, MO has an eight-square-mile zone that the FBI refers to as 'the murder factory'. Detroit and St. Louis are also pretty violent. I think a good rule of thumb is to stay away from parts of the country that hold reputations for being violent or having a lovely police force if you look out of place. The southern states with a history of contemporary racism should be avoided if you're not white. Especially if you are also male. But the train riding communities out of states like Kentucky and Louisiana are some of the richest in flavor. Stay away from Nevada, unless you're going into nature or Burning Man or Defcon. Both Reno and Vegas are just gross. Utah is meh. The open spaces there are beautiful, but SLC...really? (Oh, well if you DO go to SLC, go to 'One Love Cafe'. Free, organic food with the opportunity to eat full, delicious meals on the daily. Please do volunteer if you have time. I have a fetish for Los Angeles myself, but it's a love-hate-hate relationship. Short visits only. Be very careful bumming up or down the Southern California coast. The police there are lovely, and the towns are very much money-centric. The midwest, as a whole, is meh. Lawrence, KS is a surprisingly rad spot (William Burroughs), with a lush vagabond presence in the warmer seasons. People intentionally travel out of their way when crossing through to stop in and spend time there. So, as a rule of thumb, use your wits - and if a place has a reputation for being greasy and ran by police who abuse the system - it's probably somewhat true. And talk to people who are obviously transient when you see them on your sidewalks asking for change. Doing this has almost certainly saved my life.
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2016 21:31
|
|
|
Crimewave posted:In general, I stay away from the East Coast as a whole. There are a few spots that are known for being safe and laid back (like Asheville, NC). I think there is something to be said for Westward Expansion birthing more and more dissent from the federal government the further West we went. I was going to try to argue against this but then I remembered my home city did this. http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/03/us/hitchbot-robot-beheaded-philadelphia-feat/ Thanks for the advice, I would like to travel but traveling alone is a bit much for me and my anxiety addled brain, especially if it was hitchhiking. One day I need to grab some friends and finally travel further west than West Viriginia...
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2016 05:01
|
|
|
Terminus posted:I was going to try to argue against this but then I remembered my home city did this. That was taking out the trash in the most literal way.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2016 05:34
|
|
|
Crimewave posted:The southern states with a history of contemporary racism should be avoided if you're not white. Especially if you are also male. But the train riding communities out of states like Kentucky and Louisiana are some of the richest in flavor. I live in South Carolina. People here are laid back if you're white, Christian and somewhat well to do. If you're homeless you're pretty much dirt out here. Columbia, SC used to have a ton of homeless people, but having been on both coasts and all over the country they're more often the crazy, violent, hard drug rob you sort than out west. There were some protests when they were at one point all rounded up and told to be in a certain building after dark, but honestly it was getting pretty bad. I've been messed with by tweakers who want money enough. It wasn't all bad though. Met an ex-military guy who just wanted a hot dog to get some protein in his system, but he was some sort of weird exception to the rule. Anyway, the longer you're in the South as someone who doesn't fit in the higher the chance that you'll be messed with. Racism, classism, sexism, violence and institutional corruption are ingrained in the culture. There are little islands of not-so-bad, often around college towns, but that's about it. quote:Stay away from Nevada, unless you're going into nature or Burning Man or Defcon. Both Reno and Vegas are just gross. I had a friend who was deep into the rave scene. Launched parties, DJ'ed, poo poo like that in the Reno and sometimes Vegas. Reno is super dirty and gross. Meth everywhere. Don't go. Loving this thread so far.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2016 05:44
|
|
|
Terminus posted:I was going to try to argue against this but then I remembered my home city did this. RIP HitchBot. Ice Phisherman posted:Loving this thread so far. Grateful for the feedback.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2016 06:01
|
|
|
How are you still alive?
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2016 06:07
|
|
|
Have you ever heard of someone hitching a ride then robbing the people that gave them a ride? If so is it common? I used to make a 10 hour drive from the Texas panhandle to Houston and would give people rides if they looked sane. I never had any problems. My wife is scared to death of hitchhikers, though, so that has stopped.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2016 18:57
|
|
|
Ever pass through Santa Cruz, CA and if so, what were your thoughts on the crusty/traveler scene there? I used to have some friends in that crowd and hung out with trainhoppers and hitchers on more than a few occasions, and ended up getting turned off by how judgmental some of these supposedly anti-authoritarian people were. On that note, how inspirational was Evasion in the traveling scene of the 2000s? I'm not meaning to come off as hostile or anything. I loved hearing stories of my friends' exploits and met some really cool people who were almost always down to go seek out adventure in the woods.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2016 02:20
|
|
|
This is a really interesting thread, I hope there are some more questions/responses, and that the OP finds his way back. My only experience with hitchhiking is when I was living in Yellowstone National Park. It is pretty common out there, and as far as I am aware, safe. I was also a male in my early-mid twenties who always had a knife on my person, however. Any women who would hitch usually did so in groups, which was probably a good decision. There was a certain demographic of international employees who would always stick together in large packs, as many as 5 or 6, for hitching, which I found kind of funny, and always wondered how they expected to all get a ride together. Hitchhiking was a great way to travel in the park. For those unfamiliar with that part of the country, or the park itself, everything is very far apart. The closest Wells Fargo was 2 hours away, and Wal-Mart was a 2 and a half hour trip to Bozeman, Montana. Within the park, the "locations" (major areas of attraction that have hotels, restaurants, etc.) are spaced out in relatively even 30 mile intervals. The majority of employees don't have cars, a lot are living a similar traveler lifestyle to the OP and travel from park to park working wherever is popular during that particular season, and are awful with money, spending their paycheck in a few days on booze and weed and surviving off of the fact that their housing and 3 squares per day have already come out of their paycheck. There are also a large number of international workers from Europe, Asia, and South America who participate in a work/travel program through their university. There are also not many roads. Yellowstone has one big figure 8 loop, with some roads shooting off to the 5 entrances to the park and their respective "gate cities". Past that, there is usually one long road to the next major town, for example Bozeman, MT, if you use the west entrance and Jackson, WY to the south. Your destination may be 100 miles away, but there is a good chance that you can pop into one vehicle and make it all the way. My hitchhiking stories are relatively uneventful, I'd make a sign that said "park employee heading to Bozeman" or something similar, hike to the road leaving the Old Faithful location, and would find a ride within an hour. Getting home could be more of a challenge, but often enough I'd run into a park employee out at a bar that could hook me up with a ride. By my second season I had a vehicle, and I repaid my hitching karma as often as I could. Once or twice I drove well out of my way because a group of international employees wanted to see a thermal feature or go on a hike that was 20 miles away. I was happy to help them get the most of their Yellowstone experience, it's a once in a lifetime thing for many Americans, let alone people that have to fly over the Atlantic to get there. As a side note, OP mentioned a free restaurant somewhere (phone posting and I'm not going back to check where after all of this). Bozeman, MT has a restaurant set up on a "pay what you can" system-if you are homeless and down on your luck, you can eat for free if you want. People will also come in and pay $100 for soup kitchen food on a tray to give back to the community. They get their food from the food bank, and various other donations, and employees are largely volunteers. Its a pretty neat thing that they do there I think.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2016 03:53
|
|
|
Isn't it considered not okay to call yourself a gypsy if you're not actually Roma?
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2016 00:56
|
|
|
Fat Pony posted:Isn't it considered not okay to call yourself a gypsy if you're not actually Roma? I expect people who live on trains and in forests to be fully updated on the current status of terms re: cultural appropriation.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2016 01:45
|
|
|
Do you know if you do or don't have a mental disorder? Have you ever tried to confirm if one exists or not?
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2016 04:39
|
|
|
Fat Pony posted:Isn't it considered not okay to call yourself a gypsy if you're not actually Roma? "Hobo" is far more correct and has more adventurous and hardworking connotations though Having known actual gypsies in the US, they are assholes to anyone outside their group and don't actually travel much. Apparently the ones in Europe are far worse but ive only heard stories. I was friends with the ones i knew fwiw
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2016 08:51
|
|
|
I actually first heard about European gypsies in Yellowstone. It was literally the third thing this guy from the Czech republic mentioned to me. Me: hi I'm om nom nom Alesh: I'm Alesh Me: how are you Alesh: am good, how are you Me: good. Nice to meet you Alesh: I have problem with gypsy in Czech republic. They are terrible people. This became a running joke all summer. Alesh was actually a really good guy. But an interesting choice of icebreaker conversations.
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2016 03:00
|
|
quote:I have had some wonderful and bewildering experiences. Been robbed at knife point by an Oxycontin-addicted lesbian couple in the mountains of Colorado, had police beat me to the point where I couldn't walk (and then drop me off a state over with no charges), had sex in odd places with interesting travelers, drunkenly tattooed my face and hands in a field with a band of gypsy musicians, studied Tibetan Buddhism in a school where orgies were a somewhat regular party occurrence, been involved with the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army during protests, started mobile food and clothing distribution centers. The list is rather lengthy, and these are just a few. holy gently caress you are a loving loser.
|
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2016 03:56
|
|
|
Twat McTwatterson posted:holy gently caress you are a loving loser. You have an appropriate username
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2016 05:23
|
|
|
Sucks OP abandoned this thread or died in a kratom overdose, I thought it had potential.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2016 01:02
|
|
|
suboptimal posted:Sucks OP abandoned this thread or died in a kratom overdose, I thought it had potential.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2016 17:29
|
|
|
photomikey posted:The thread title was wrong. A thread about hitchhiking has potential. OP wrote a thread about being homeless and a drug-addicted criminal. That thread has no potential. Oh the pearl clutching. Who do you think hitchhikes across a country other than people as described by the OP? Do the hitchhikers in your area wear suits and commute this way?
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2016 19:15
|
|
|
photomikey posted:The thread title was wrong. A thread about hitchhiking has potential. OP wrote a thread about being homeless and a drug-addicted criminal. That thread has no potential. Come on man, he started a thread about the traveler's (hitchiker's) lifestyle in the USA. Hitchiking is easy, make a sign and put up your thumb. Someone will probably eventually take you to where you want to go. Living as a hitchiker for years, now that's where some really interesting stories come in. I thought this was a really interesting thread that had some serious potential, and am still hoping the OP comes back to it. E: I bet both of the posters on this page who were making GBS threads on OP's choices and lifestyle haven't enjoyed life or experienced 1/10th as much as OP has. Sitting in the comfortable bubble that they have created for themselves passing judgement on anyone who chose a path different than what's normal. Sure, his stories are extreme, I personally wouldn't do half the poo poo he did. But he lived the hell out of life. He even mentioned acquiring/developing skills so that he could make money to support himself, and a decent amount of it. He wasn't homeless because he was some loser, he didn't have a house or rent an apartment because he wanted to sleep outside. He had the option to live a normal life, and chose to take a different path. I bet if either poster wanted to do something like that, even if they craved it with all their heart, they would be way to fuckin scared to do what crime wave did. Or whatever their version of what the most fun life would be. To have the ability to live in the woods because they are beautiful and you want to. Or to move somewhere because you felt like it, with full confidence in supporting yourself. To do exactly what you want to do, when you want to do it, with the approval of others, regardless of if it falls into some set standard path that you have decided is the only way to be a successful human being. I'm done. Had to rant that one out though. om nom nom fucked around with this message at 02:34 on May 8, 2016 |
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 02:01
|
|
|
I've been quite busy with other things, and the last few times I'd checked, the thread got bumped back a page and a half. I'll attempt to keep a closer eye on it from here out. You can thank @om nom nom for notifying me that the thread was alive. Y-Hat posted:How are you still alive? There were quite a few brushes with fate, but a lot of those were simply from taking too many drugs or almost driving off a cliff in the mountains. I suppose you could call it whatever you wanted. Perhaps my body has an abnormal constitution to substances. Perhaps it was all just luck or death wasn't packed into the deck. I am very humble to the cycles of life and death, and will keep kicking as long as time would have me. Aades posted:Have you ever heard of someone hitching a ride then robbing the people that gave them a ride? If so is it common? If you mean rob, as in, at gun/knife-point, or even just through the threat of violence, no. If you mean, do some hitch hikers steal? Then yes, but it's far less common to meet hitch hikers that steal from rides then from corporate storefronts. Of course there are thieves, but thieves are found in any community. I suppose logic could assume that in a community with a lower rate of stable income, the statistics would be concentrated moreso, but I didn't really hang out with people who I could tell were sketchy - and as such, wasn't exposed to much of it. In terms of rideshares telling me stories, I mostly just heard funny ones about goofy rear end people. I would definitely not say it is common. Most people who are hitching are just honestly appreciative for the help. You're most likely getting them to somewhere they'll be safer or more comfortable than they were previously located. As far as your wife being uncomfortable -- if it makes her uncomfortable, don't pick up riders with her in the car. If you personally are driving about and you see someone on the side of the road who you feel okay about picking up, go ahead. Most likely you'll be heartily thanked and possibly be gifted with some type of faerie magic (or fleas). Jk. You had it right when you said 'who look sane to you'. Trust your gut and you'll most likely be just fine in all cases. suboptimal posted:Ever pass through Santa Cruz, CA and if so, what were your thoughts on the crusty/traveler scene there? I used to have some friends in that crowd and hung out with trainhoppers and hitchers on more than a few occasions, and ended up getting turned off by how judgmental some of these supposedly anti-authoritarian people were. I've been through Santa Cruz many times, but only stayed overnight there once (and ended up there for a week). It's extraordinarily beautiful, and there are some really awesome folks there to interact with, but it's also very expensive. I only met fellow travelers on the street, and it was in passing. The drunk folks were the only ones I wished we hadn't bumped into. They tried to tag along with a lady friend of mine and I, and eventually I had to shake them. The time I stayed there for days was when I stopped in on my way up north to see an electronic music event. It was phenomenal art, and I took some really clean MDMA. About halfway through the show, I went to take a leak, and upon entering the men's bathroom, I noticed a group of drugged out people just staring at the kid who'd apparently fallen down and banged his head very hard on the stool. He was bleeding out all over the floor. I want you to keep in mind, none of these asshats were actively calling help, or informing the staff at the event that this was occurring. I also want you to notice that these asshats are the people who >have $< >have cars and homes< and could not have >given a gently caress less<. I went over to check on him, it was a head injury, it looked pretty bad. I got him some water, he was very dehydrated. I talked to him and kept him awake because he was not able to stay conscious on his own. I could see white beneath the skin under where he'd hit the top of his skull open on the toilet. I asked what drugs he took, and he'd only taken LSD, so it wasn't the drugs. I found out shortly that the passout was actually from a condition he suffered from. The event management and staff didn't have any serious medical help, and he refused an ambulance, so I just got a medical kit from them, cleaned him up, kept getting water in him, and got him outside for fresh air. He came to after a while and I stayed right next to him for the rest of the night. After walking him home, he told us to crash there even though my friend and I already had a spot to stay. Stayed with him for a week, and later had him come up north to a National Forest to camp out for a weekend. I have known this guy to this very day. That book, Evasion, was definitely a thing around the time it was released, mostly in anarcho communities. I thought it had some interesting stuff in it, but I believe I was also right in assuming the Crimethinc community is actually a government conspiracy. In terms of the people who come off as judgemental, gently caress them. I know exactly what you mean, and saw plenty of that myself. It wasn't ever directed at me, because people assumed by my lifestyle and appearance that I was on the up and up (which I most often was) -- but I saw it being dumped on many many others. Some of those kids are simply that: kids. Some just have low self-esteem, and some honestly just care about the state of things so much that it comes out in more extreme ways at times. I've always been a fan of the saying: Drive all blames into one.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 05:02
|
|
|
om nom nom posted:My only experience with hitchhiking is when I was living in Yellowstone National Park. It is pretty common out there, and as far as I am aware, safe. I was also a male in my early-mid twenties who always had a knife on my person, however. Any women who would hitch usually did so in groups, which was probably a good decision. There was a certain demographic of international employees who would always stick together in large packs, as many as 5 or 6, for hitching, which I found kind of funny, and always wondered how they expected to all get a ride together. It's always wonderful to hear other people's experiences. I've met a lot of awesome park rangers, and it doesn't surprise me to hear about hitching as one. In terms of women hitch hikers, packs, large dogs, and knives (and I would argue guns) are the way to go. I've known a lot of girl travelers, and even the ones who went solo don't have any real horror stories. But then again, the ones who do may not be around to tell them, unfortunately. Mostly dealing with creepy rear end men, especially older ones. Veskit posted:Do you know if you do or don't have a mental disorder? Haha. That's a legitimate question. I guess that would depend on who you ask. suboptimal posted:Sucks OP abandoned this thread or died in a kratom overdose, I thought it had potential. I appreciate the notion. Not dead. Thought the thread was, though. Still on kratom. Now, to address the asshats who apparently don't have anything better to do than shitpost. Fat Pony posted:Isn't it considered not okay to call yourself a gypsy if you're not actually Roma? You clearly didn't even read the posts before posting... I never once called myself a 'gypsy'. I only made reference to an experience I had with a band of gypsy musicians. You really seem eager to police people on political correctness. Might I suggest another hobby? photomikey posted:The thread title was wrong. A thread about hitchhiking has potential. OP wrote a thread about being homeless and a drug-addicted criminal. That thread has no potential. Actually working as intended. This is a thread about hitch hiking and personal experiences. I actually was never forced to sleep outside, and always had places to stay. That was entirely through my attitude, personality, art, and contributions within different communities. Yes, I am open about suffering from alcoholism. Can't really help that other than quitting, which I did. I still take drugs, but they've never been a problem for me like alcohol was. I do take an Indonesian plant on a regular basis, but even that I take long breaks from. I am also not a criminal, thank you very much. It's quite obvious that you by no means intend to offer anything constructive. Thanks for stopping by. And I absolutely think everyone should aspire to, as om nom nom put it: Live the hell out of life. The most unhappy people I've met are the ones doing the 'normal stuff'. They resent themselves for it, whereas I just choose to live in the most free way I know how to, and have a blast doing so. Crimewave fucked around with this message at 06:37 on May 8, 2016 |
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 05:20
|
|
|
For what it's worth, this has been a really fascinating thread, and I'm glad you posted it.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 06:04
|
|
|
Thanks for the great  post about Santa Cruz. Really reminded me of how easy it is to fall in love with the place and simultaneously meet some really cool, amazing people as well as some total douchebags. When it came to your traveling gear, was it fairly nice and new or old, beat up or repurposed? For example, did you have a nice pack or boots, or would you mostly just use whatever you had available or could acquire cheaply (freely) or easily?
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2016 15:40
|
|
|
Crimewave posted:Haha. That's a legitimate question. I guess that would depend on who you ask. What would you say and what would your psych say?
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2016 06:03
|
|
|
Azathoth256 posted:For what it's worth, this has been a really fascinating thread, and I'm glad you posted it. I appreciate the interest. Cheers. suboptimal posted:When it came to your traveling gear, was it fairly nice and new or old, beat up or repurposed? For example, did you have a nice pack or boots, or would you mostly just use whatever you had available or could acquire cheaply (freely) or easily? Ohh, gear. Probably one of my favorite topics. I will start by saying that living out of a backpack has helped me in maintaining a reasonable amount of objects in life. To this day, I don't collect useless stuff, and my clothing keeps at around ~3 pairs of pants, a couple of shirt shirts with a few tank tops, some long johns, and a couple pairs of wool socks. Plus a solid coat and vest. I can literally be ready to hit the road again at a moment's notice. I have always preferred second hand stuff, and very few things did I ever buy new -- like a pair of Carhartts when you can't find em at any of the thrift stores. I just appreciate the lengthy lifecycle of a good pair of bibs. The only pair of shoes I've purchased new in my life are a pair of waterproof keens, which have been running steady for over 4 1/2 years now. I imagine I'll be wearing these for several more years. The rest of my boots were secondhand. In fact, a broken in pair of boots is preferable to a new one because of the time it takes to break thick leather in. I have gone through more packs than I can recall. Upgraded for size when needed, downsized again when not. I've only had one brand new pack, and I only kept it as a sort of resalable asset, and resold it when I needed cash. Actually, that's sort of a good policy. Same with my computers (I am a computer nerd, so I would have a variety of secondhand devices for accessing internet/using voice over IP since I didn't ever own cellphones -- still don't). Any device I just treated as an asset, and would resell if I needed money for things like food. The life of any clothing item is extended when you are good with sewing. Dental floss is the preferred thread, as it's insanely durable. For things like patching heavy duty canvas like on Carhartts or boots, you take the rubber from bicycle tubes and cut out the pieces you need. Then you stitch with the dental floss and you're good to go. Lighter cloth patches for lighter gear, and leather for leather (although rubber works well here as well). If you lack a leather tool for punching holes, you can just use a nail against a piece of wood and you're set. I wore the same leather hat upon my head for 8 years before it was stolen in the Midwest a couple of years ago. The replacement was purchased (new) in Taos, New Mexico, and, assuming it doesn't get stolen, will be up there for the next couple of decades or longer. I've also crafted a lot of my own clothes, and extra storage packs with dumpster dived materials. You'd be amazed how much stuff gets thrown out at places like the Goodwill or Salvation Army/Savers. You'll find entire dumpsters full of perfectly good stuff that's been thrown out simply because they have run out of room and don't want to deal with shipping stuff back to their warehouses. Aside from that, I've also found good hiking packs off of Craigslist. That's the platform I would use as well in reselling items like packs or laptops. I would not mind at all getting more in depth on the topic of gear. If there's an interest, I will divulge specifics about what types of gear are good to use, what brands I've had good experiences with, and how to properly pack your poo poo depending on what you plan on doing. Veskit posted:What would you say and what would your psych say? Well, I don't buy too much into the Western approach to psychology, but I'm sure they'd find something to label me with. Since we're the great 'exporters of mental illness', and due to the nature of the pharmaceutical industry, I take a lot of diagnoses with a grain of salt. The Rx would probably discuss my childhood traumas with me, and look into the abuse that I encountered growing up. They'd look at my history of using drugs and alcohol and talk about reasons for self-medicating. They'd probably look at my lifestyle (one major issue here as well is that I don't view my lifestyle as being symptomatic of an 'illness') and trace lines between all of the above. They might draw some 'correct' lines, but all in all, in the end they'd most likely tell me that taking their drugs, and entering into an indefinite timeline (as always) of expensive therapy would be the only way to heal. And I am almost assured that the DSMs could apply labels to any person walking the planet at almost any given time. If we were talking about the field of transpersonal psychology, I think we'd have a much more constructive dynamic. Spiritually speaking, there's a lot of material there. What would I say? I'd be somewhere in the mix. I was definitely affected by my childhood home, and I've certainly had issues in relationships (although that is a two way street). But, I'd be careful to label any of it. Look at Japan, they didn't even have a word to describe depression before it was imported. The culture just understood that life wasn't all unicorns and rainbows, and there was a respect for grief, sadness, and suffering. Such is life. Quitting drinking alleviated any extreme downs, and although I don't consider myself the most stable person at times, I think there's a rhythm to the madness. I think we live in a unique time (aren't they all unique times?) where humanity is very much in a widespread state of dis-ease. People have excluded themselves in a lot of ways from each other, and I think there is a lot of suffering at the moment. I don't think synthetic drugs are the answer, although they sometimes have their place. I do think reconnecting with the planet, and attempting to live symbiotically is the ultimate path of healing. Trauma is something that can certainly gently caress a person up, but we are a very resilient species, and there is always a road to recovery. We're a lot more capable than Western psychology allows.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2016 07:16
|
|
|
How do you feel about the term "vagabond", OP?
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2016 14:13
|
|
|
Crimewave posted:Well, I don't buy too much into the Western approach to psychology, but I'm sure they'd find something to label me with. Since we're the great 'exporters of mental illness', and due to the nature of the pharmaceutical industry, I take a lot of diagnoses with a grain of salt. lol
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2016 14:22
|
|
|
I'm so confused. Would you not see a therapist because nothing is wrong (though you admitted there is something) or because it's Western?
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2016 14:32
|
|
|
What's it like to suck so hard, last two posters? Do you find yourself empathizing with vacuums more than other human beings? For what it's worth, I saw a therapist for more than a year who got a PhD in psychology decades ago at a US public research university and continued to work there as a counselor, and most of what Crimewave has written above about psychology could've come from his mouth. He often referenced Buddhist thinking and acknowledged the limits of contemporary psychology (which is of course now practiced outside of "the West").
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2016 14:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 11:23 |
|
|
Mortley posted:What's it like to suck so hard, last two posters? Do you find yourself empathizing with vacuums more than other human beings? ahahahaha
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2016 14:47
|
|