Last Updated: 8/18/18 | August 18th, 2018
My very first experience with hitchhiking was in Belize. Back in 2005, I hitchhiked the entire country, as it was the most typical method locals got around. If they were doing it, why not me? It was a great deal of fun as well as much much easier as well as safer than I believed it would be. considering that then, I’ve hitchhiked around a handful of countries as well as satisfied some fascinating (and not so interesting) people. Hitchhiking is still a prominent as well as typical method lots of people around the world get around, however it evokes a great deal of fears as well as concerns, particularly among Westerners. Today, Matt Karsten from expertvagabond.com shares his experience hitchhiking around the united states as well as recommendations about exactly how you can safely do it too. go into Matt.
It was a freezing as well as overcast day on the Oregon coastline when I nervously stuck my thumb out on the side of path 101. For the next 20 minutes, motorists passed me over as well as over once again — a lot of with looks of disgust on their faces. however I kept on smiling. would any individual stop for me? Was I wasting my time? I wasn’t totally sure.
Eventually my persistence paid off, as well as a large orange pickup truck screeched to a stop in a cloud of dust. A wave of enjoyment rushed over me as I jogged as much as satisfy CJ as well as her dog, Trigger. My very first ride!
Yet this was just the very first of lots of such pleasurable surprises on my journey.
CJ wasn’t going far, only to the next town. When I asked why she stopped, she explained that I looked fairly typical as well as that she’d likewise done some solo hitchhiking in Montana when she was younger. This would ended up being a typical style over the next five weeks. motorists will commonly stop for you to pay back kindness they got in the past.
Before I left on my objective to hitchhike across the united states from coastline to coast, I was told that nobody picks hitchhikers up anymore. They stated that it was hazardous these days, as well as that the golden age of hitchhiking was, sadly, over.
But after five weeks, 3,500 miles, 36 rides (from both guy as well as women), a motorcycle, a boat, an airplane, a freight train, as well as a tractor trailer, I can state that those people were wrong. If you’ve always dreamed of hitchhiking however are not sure of exactly how to do it, where to begin, as well as exactly how to stay safe, right here are 14 ideas to hitchhike smart:
להיות בטוח
Always look motorists in the eye as well as smile as they pass. Not in a crazy axe-murderer way, however in a friendly as well as personable way. Smiling is extremely important. Pretend the next cars and truck is a good friend who is planning to pick you up. try waving hey there or holding your look expectantly as they drive past. You truly only have a second or two to make a positive impression. believe of it as a drive-by task interview, with only your eyes, appearance, as well as body language to guide the other person’s decision. Smiling for three hours directly in the sun or rain in spite of a constant stream of rejection is not easy, however you’ll get much better at it. If you look anxious or scared, you will draw in the wrong type of people, so be confident.
Look Presentable
No one wishes to pick up a lazy, stinky-looking hobo. gown in light or bright clothes. prevent using black if you can. Don’t wear sun glasses (people requirement to see your eyes), as well as keep your hands out of your pockets. Don’t smoke, drink, or sit down on the side of the road.
Additionally, lots of motorists pick up people who look similar to themselves. I was having a tough time getting a trip on the border of Colorado as well as Kansas up until I gotten myself a affordable cowboy hat! soon after that calculated purchase, a trucker couple from rural Tennessee pulled over as well as proceeded to drive me 1,200 miles over the program of two days, country music playing all the while.
Choose a Good Spot
Cars will not stop for you if they can’t do it safely. Interstate on-ramps are excellent since cars and trucks aren’t moving extremely quick as well as there’s normally space to pull over. other great places include intersections with stoplights or a stop indication as well as gas stations. The longer a motorist can get a great look at you, the better. keep an eye out for shady areas with security from the sun, too. If you have Web gain access to on your phone, Google Maps in satellite view will show you where the very best on-ramps are.
Hitchhiking out of huge cities can be extremely difficult, as well as often utilizing public transportation to get to the outskirts is your finest option. There are some locations where it is nearly impossible to get a ride, such as areas near sensitive government facilities (employees are prohibited to pick people up),בתי כלא, או קהילות עם שיעורי עבירה פליליים גבוהים.
לעשות שיחה
יש המון סיבות לכך שאנשים מרימים טרמפים. אולי הם עייפים כמו גם רוצים להקשיב לסיפורי נסיעות מהנים. אולי הם היו כאשר הטרמפים כמו גם רוצים לחלוק איתך את החוויה שלהם (וקארמה). אולי הם ינסו להמיר אותך לנצרות/איסלאם/סיינטולוגיה. אולי הם דרישה לסייע להישאר ער בנסיעה ארוכה.
מתן שיחה נהדרת הוא בדיוק האופן בו אתה מחזיר לאנשים האלה על הנדיבות שלהם. זה יכול גם לגרום לארוחת צהריים, שתייה חינם, או אולי אפילו הצעה להחזיק אותך למשך הלילה. אד בונה יאכטות היה הטיול האחרון במסע החוצה שלי, כמו גם בילה את כל אחר הצהריים שלו ולספק לי טיול אישי של קו החוף של מרילנד לפני שהוציא אותי לארוחת ערב כמו גם שתייה במסעדת פירות הים המועדפת עליו.
היה מוכן
ארוז תמיד אוכל מספיק כמו גם מים כדי להימשך יום, במצב אתה נתקע באמצע שום מקום. אני אוהב להביא כמה בננות, תפוחים, טורטיות, טונה, שעועית מיובשת, כמו גם צרור עוגיות לחלוק. בקבוק מים מסוננים יאפשר לכם לשתות בבטחה מהנהרות וגם מבריכות. קח כמה סמנים לטווח הארוך בצבע כהה כדי לייצר שלטים, קצת קרם הגנה, ערכת עזרה ראשונה מאוד, בגדים חמים וכן מעיל גשם.
מכוניות USB ומטען משאיות כמו גם סוללה חיצונית לטלפון החכם שלך הם גם מושג נהדר. הם הטובים ביותר להאזנה למוזיקה, בדיקת מפות Google או לדרוש סיוע במקרה חירום. ערסל קמפינג קל משקל או שק ביבי יסייעו לכם לחסוך כסף באירוח. לעתים קרובות חניתי ביער בצד הדרך או מאחורי הכנסיות בטיול שלי.
השתמש בשלט קרטון
אינדיקציה בסיסית של קרטון המציינת עיירה מקרוב מסייע הרבה. שמור על זה קצר כמו גם לחבר במכתבי מימון גדולים עם סמן שארפי. זה צריך להיות קריא במרחק מרכב הנע מהיר. השתמש ביעדים שקרובים למדי (תוך 20-50 מיילים), כמו גם סביר להניח שתבקיע רכיבות. לאחר מכן תוכל לדון באלה ארוכים יותר בתוך הרכב אם הנהג הולך רחוק יותר לכיוון שלך.
גם אינדיקציות מצחיקות עובדות טוב. כמה מצליחים בו השתמשתי היו: “עוגיות בחינם”, “לא יהרוג אותך”, כמו גם “ללא כלבת בהתחשב ביוני ההוא.” האינדיקציה האחרונה הזו הייתה מצחיקה מספיק שדן, שחקן קולנוע בדימוס כמו גם מנהל תרופות, כבר נסע ליציאה הבאה כאשר שינה את דעתו כמו גם הסתובב כדי למצוא אותי!
אתה יכול לגלות קרטון לאינדיקציות בכל סוג של תחנת דלק או מסעדת מזון מהיר, בין אם על ידי בקשה מבפנים או על ידי פתיחת המזבלה מאחור.
בחר את הטיול שלך בזהירות
אין לך אחריות להיכנס לכל מכוניות ומשאית שעוצרות עבורך. האם הנהג במצב רוח נהדר? האם הם מסתכלים עליך בעיניים? האם הם מפוכחים? בדיוק כמה אנשים נמצאים במכונית? אם אינך מרגיש בנוח לקבל טרמפ, נניח תודה לנהג וגם למדינה לא. לכלול סיבה אם אתה צריך. העמיד פנים שאתה חולה, או לתאר שאתה מעדיף לחכות בנסיעה ארוכה יותר. תלוי באינסטינקטים של הבטן שלך. בטיול שלי, דחיתי רק נסיעה אחת. הייתי בקהילה רישומה (זונות הסתובבו באמצע היום), כמו גם הרכב שהפסק היה משאית עמוסה בארבעה בחורים צעירים, עם ריח העשבים שנשפכו מהחלונות. כמו כן הם פנו רק ליציאה הבאה. רוב הסיכויים שהייתי בסדר, אולם הנסיבות לא הרגישו אידיאליות כמו שקיבלתי החלטה לחכות להזדמנות טובה בהרבה.
השתמש בחוש טיפוסי
לבש תמיד את חגורת הבטיחות שלך, כמו גם אם האדם מתחיל לנסוע בצורה לא תקינה, הישאר רגוע כמו גם מנומס, אולם מבקש שיפלטו במקום הסוודר הבא ללא סיכון. מנע טרמפים (או בחירת הטרמפים) בלילה. לא רק שקשה מאוד לעצור בצד הדרך בבטחה לאחר רדת החשיכה, עם זאת, הרבה יותר קשה לראות הולכי רגל בלילה. שלא לדבר על אנשים, אנשים נוטים הרבה יותר להקדיש פשעים בחסות החושך.
תישאר חיובי
טרמפים הם בהחלט אתגר נפשי. You’re putting yourself available in public while engaging in an activity that isn’t thought about mainstream. You’ll be judged by everybody who passes you, commonly in a unfavorable way. people will laugh, flip you off, yell, honk, rev their engines, or perhaps even throw things.
Stay in Control
Predators prey on weakness as well as insecurity. Don’t make yourself an simple target. gown conservatively as well as steer sexual topics to something unsexy. Make it crystal remove you’re only thinking about getting to your destination, as well as nothing else. preserve an aura of confidence.
Keep your valuables on or near your body so if you need to getaway quickly, you don’t lose them. prevent putting your bag in the trunk if possible, so the motorist can’t take off before you can get hold of it. snap a quick picture of the back of the cars and truck with your phone before you get in, then send it to a good friend or your Twitter account. when inside the car, discover a moment to phone call a good friend as well as tell them where you are as well as where you’re headed so the motorist can hear you doing it.
Avoid Arguments
Try to prevent speaking to your motorist (or hitchhiker) about politics, religion, race, or other questionable subjects, at least up until you get to understand each other a bit as well as can gauge exactly how they may react. You don’t want to provoke them into ending up being upset or emotional while behind the wheel. If they attempt to begin a conversation on these topics, try to modification the subject or provide boring/vague solution to their concerns up until they lose rate of interest or you feel comfortable speaking about them. This is exactly how I responded to Captain Kitty Litter’s excessively racist comments as well as questions. even though I disagreed with his views, I just type of nodded along as well as let him talk.
Hitchhike with a Friend
If it’s your very first time hitchhiking as well as you’re especially anxious about it, try hitching with somebody else who’s done it before. This is a amazing method to discover the ropes as well as get a lot more comfortable. While it may be a lot more tough to get somebody to stop for two hitchhikers, it will always be a bit safer. I’m not stating not to go alone, however if you’re anxious about safety, hitchhiking with a good friend may be a great method to begin out.
Expect to Wait
My typical wait time while hitchhiking across the united states was about an hour. however there were some days when it took 2–3 hours or more. You need to be prepared to wait in one area for at least a few hours. However, there were likewise lots of times when I was chosen up after only 15 minutes. You just never understand exactly how long it will take.
If you’re in a especially poor spot, it may take days to get chosen up, which occurred to me when outside Denver. I spent two nights in a motel waiting to get out of there. Are you getting ill of waiting? perhaps take a break as well as go do something else to break up the time. having camping gear with you can assist in these circumstances too. walking a few miles to the next exit or catching a taxi to a much better place are likewise options.
הגן על עצמך
You will nearly definitely never requirement to utilize it, however packing a weapon of some kind to assist with self-defense is always a great idea. I like to bring pepper spray together with me. When Captain Kitty Litter started telling me about the time he threw one more hitchhiker out of his moving car, I subtly put one hand in my pocket where pepper spray was hidden (just in case). thankfully I never needed to utilize it!
My experienced hitchhiker good friend Shannon brings a stun gun freely on her belt (this can be unlawful in some states). However, a basic pen shoved into the ear or eyes of an assailant must work in a pinch too. In my opinion, a knife must not be your very first option for self-defense unless you’ve been trained to utilize it, as it can quickly be turned against you if the circumstance takes a turn for the worse. Please note that utilizing a weapon is an absolute last resort — only utilize it when communication doesn’t work as well as you honestly concern for your life.
Is Hitchhiking Safe?
Hitchhiking has ended up being progressively a lot more unusual over the years. Irrational fears about hitchhiking are brought on by paranoid horror stories promoted aggressively by the news as well as then turned into motion pictures by Hollywood. poor news is what sells, so that’s what we’re subjected to. I’m still waiting on CNN to do a story about my successful hitchhiking adventure, however I’m not holding my breath. I had a terrific time, satisfied excellent people, as well as nothing poor happened. It’s not sensational sufficient to be thought about news.
Based on my own experience as well as after listening to other people’s hitchhiking stories, it’s likely that some weirdos will pick you up. however seldom will it result in a hazardous situation. Out of 36 different rides during my own adventure, I had perhaps two or three “odd” (socially awkward) drivers.
I was told many times that hitchhiking would be dangerous. While it’s wise to be gotten ready for worst-case scenarios, in truth you don’t have to concern about these horror stories as well much. a lot of of the people I satisfied while hitchhiking were friendly, fascinating, as well as full of entertaining tales. however that doesn’t indicate you must let your guard down.
While hitchhiking is not almost as hazardous as some people make it out to be, there is danger involved. If you select to engage in this activity, you are accepting those risks. Crimes are dedicated against hitchhikers from time to time, in additiעל הנהגים נגד (אם כי הרבה פחות תכופות).
אם אי פעם אתה מרגיש מאוים או לא בנוח כשאתה כבר ברכב, תחילה בקש מהנהג לעצור וגם לאפשר לך לצאת ליציאה או בתחנת הדלק הבאה. אִמָא