how to hitchhike-part one

At some point in your life, whether out of necessity or sense of adventure, you may want to try hitch hiking. Although there are many horror movies that depict hitchhikers as axe-wielding homicidal maniacs, I can tell you that generally speaking this is not the case. Most hitchhikers are simply trying to get somewhere. The truth is that those who pick up hitchhikers are much more likely to be killers and/or rapists rather than the hitchhikers themselves. Jeffrey Dahmer was one such example. He would pick up young men hitchhiking and then, well, you know the rest.

But despite the danger of getting picked up by a celebrity psycho-path, hitchhiking, just like many adventure sports, can be a perfectly safe past time or mode of travel if one applies common sense and a few safety measures. I  have hitchhiked across the United States in its entirety several times, as well as a few up and down the coast trips in California, Oregon, and Washington,  and have suffered very little damage to my person. Along the way I picked up a few tricks and pointers that may he helpful to know about if you plan on undertaking a trip of your own.

Mostly I have hitched when I had to travel long distances and had very little money, but plenty of time. There are other modes of travel, but the money might not be available.  Don’t despair! A few dollars and some basic supplies can be all one needs to travel.

Having said that, I must say that there are times when I have had a little bit of money to spare, but not quite enough to get me all the way to where I wanted to go. At these times I have quite successfully combined the speed and reliability of the Greyhound transit system with economical hitchhiking.  A little pre-planning can make a big difference in these situations. Greyhound usually has some sort of deal going on, so I always check this first and base my travel plans accordingly. For example, sometimes there is a deal where you purchase a ticket a week in advance, and you get half off the price. When this is the case, I immediately buy a ticket for half of my trip, say from Flagstaff Arizona to Atlanta Georgia, and then spend a week hitching to Flagstaff from California.  After I make it to Flagstaff,  I jump on the bus to continue the rest of the journey.

In the next part of this blog I will write about what sort of gear is good to carry when thumbing it. The gear you carry can make an otherwise cold and miserable trip into a fun and entertaining voyage.