Stats

Hitchhiked distance: 11010 kilometer

Number of lifts: 129

Average waiting time: 40 minutes 20 seconds

Waiting time total: 69 hours 55 minutes

Log is available here.

My Route

I entered the United States of America the first time through Texas and stayed some weeks in Austin. From there I was flying with my friend Patrick Falterman to New Mexico. I hitchhiked to Denver and went on by trainhopping to Salt Lake City, California all the way up to Seattle. It was also my first contact with trainhopping at all. What a blast!

Later I hitchhiked up and forth in Washington and Oregon, before I set off through Canada into direction New York. I lived a month in New York and hitchhiked from there 5000 miles to the Northend of Alaska. On my way back I had a small detour through San Francisco before entering Canada again.

People

I can‘t say, even after more than half a year in Northamerica, that I understand the people there. The USA are big and divers. It is hard to make a general assumption about this place. The States can be very different from each other. Coast vs. Inner country, west vs. East, everywhere are people a bit different. But all are Americans and therefore part of this wicked society. I just try to give an impression about that.

In the beginning I have to say, that I had my biggest culture shock in the USA. You would think that the people in the USA would be more similar to us Europeans than f.e. the people in South America. Not at all. At least in my opinion. The USA are the same kind of capitalistic dickheads as we Germans, but in America society is much more brutal and uncertain than in Europe. It starts with the health-care system and goes on with living on debts, short-term paychecks and underpaid jobs (which you need more than one, of course). I mean, our system seems compared to what I encountered in the USA like an ideological, flawless Socialism. And there is an abnormal pressure to perform, that we have not at all on our continent.

Generally it was a bit hard for me to connect with the people in Northamerica further than the normal superficial interaction. Everyone is very friendly and polite for sure. But if it gets a bit more personal you will meet their bounds pretty soon. People are very protective about personal issues. And then this pseudo-friendlieness. In the beginning I really hated it, but you get used to everything. When I went back to Germany, I even missed that people are so superficial friendly with each other. I spend a lot of time in California and I had to learn, that it is not so important what you say, but more, how you say it. Germany, compared to that, is a very direct society. A friend just told me: „You can‘t hide in Germany.“ And this is, after months within this superficial but nice world, a bit annoying as well sometimes.

On big topic in the USA is fear. Fear something could happen. Fear to get killed by a hitchhiker. Fear of terrorism. Fear to become sick. Fear of life. The USA are in my opinion much more neurotic and paranoid than the rest of the world. People like it to be stable. Everything should stay how it is. Brazil was similar neurotic in my eyes and I think it has to do with the strong influence of religion within the society.

Especially when hitchhiking you will encounter this fear very directly, when you try ask for rides at a gas station. This is not very appreciated. If you approach people, they will have a very negative attitude towards you. They look strange, want to be left alone and see you as scum. It feels like running the gauntlet sometimes. And I never experienced that in another country. Canada for example is the very opposite of this. People approach you at the gas station, ask what you are doing there and start a conversation with you.

To understand hitchhiking in the USA you have to consider another part. In the USA are living a lot of people in the streets and there are many who have serious mental health issues and would be in the need for help. But there is no health system, that would take care about them and therefore the people are left by themselves. And for everyone who has no car, due to the lack of public transportation, the only way to move around is by hitchhiking.

You gotta understand the general difference in traveling culture between the USA and Europe. Here you move around with your hippie and student friends, people think you are cool and hitchhiking has quite a good reputation among people. On the American streets (while hitchhiking as well as while traveling), there is a wild mix of hobos, homeless, hippies, students, drug addicts, people who are on the run, people who are distressed and people who just don‘t want to be part of this society anymore and live as an outlaw. The characters you meet are much more radical, extreme and annoying than in most other parts of the world. For the good as well as for the bad. It is different to hitchhike the USA than to hitchhike in Europe. But I found it super exciting to move around in the USA and meet people there. I met some really great characters there that opened up my world a lot. Thanks for that!

But what really sucks is the outcome of this mixture towards hitchhiking. As a hitchhiker people in the USA will treat you like a drug addict criminal. That is the mean difference to Europe, because here you are (like in most countries in the world) the cool kid and free spirit, because you hitchhike. In the USA you are the scum because you hitchhike. And I will never get used to that. It is one of the biggest disadvantages about this country. Hitchhiking is not fun at all with this.

In addition to that there is a statistical reason. It takes a while till people stop for you. I had more than 40 minutes average waiting time in the USA and this is only be topped by Colombia as the worst country for hitchhiking. For the 130 rides I had, this is a very bad average waiting time. There is not much left of the Hippiedream about hitchhiking through the USA. Reality is made by hard numbers and woebegone waiting times, with people that hate you, because you hitchhike.

In the end something positive. People in the USA are very helpful. Not to give you a ride, but in general. And this has to do with the many homeless people around. Constantly they throw food and drinks at you. Even money. People in the US see it as their responsibility to help others. It is part of the cultural peculiarity.

In the USA people like to help, donate, give away food. They see it as an inadvertent intervention if the state would do so. It is a typical Republican agenda to keep the state as small as possible and out of as many part of your daily life as possible. In Europe it is the opposite. When the state is fostering volunteering, some people might say this is shit, because the state just uses the free workforce to not fulfill his own responsibilities. There are two very contrary positions about the role of the state towards the society. And those influence the people a lot. Good for you guys being in the USA because you might get food and drinks for free. But it won‘t bring you any rides. Anyway, take the presents, For the people there it is important to help others and you make them happy if you let them help you.

Roads

The American Highway Network is the most beautiful collective of roads in the world for me. And that, for sure, is a big plus about hitchhiking in the USA. Even if it helps just a little. When I first time came to Texas I just thought: „Fuck yeah, this is exactly as beautiful and perfect how I expected this roads to be!“. There are those sweet shootings from the post war period, pale pictures from the 50‘s, time of the oil boom, beginning of a new era and the time were most of this magnificent infrastructure was build. Long, straight interstates, flower-shaped interchanges, few cars in the road and somehow I have the Hoover-Dam as well as Kennedy in my head, when i think about this. Don‘t know why. But with this pictures I entered the USA. And the roads have been exactly how I expected them to be. Not the rest tho.

My excitement might also be supported by the fact, that the american Interstates are bigger, wider and longer than most of the other roads in the world that I was hitchhiking on so far. The continent has a lot of space and you will feel that very quickly, when moving around in the USA. Everything is bigger, Roads, Cars and Egos. I think it is the perfect country to do a road-trip, if you want to drive by your own. Afterwards I went to Japan, which is kind of the counterpart to this society. There is not much space, everything is small, detailed and tight. Japanese cars felt like toy cars to me, when I arrived there from the USA. Sometimes I even had to laugh, when someone came across me in the street with his dwarf-mobile.

What I missed while hitchhiking thought the USA was: Service areas. There are regular gas stations at almost every exit with fast-food restaurants. But no service stations, like we know them from the European highway network. That is a clear disadvantage, when it comes to hitchhiking. There are too much gas stations, so it is hard to find the frequented ones. Sometimes you are lucky, sometimes not. Only north of New York I encountered some really nice rest areas along the toll roads. Between NYC and Montreal. They have been wonderful, but I think it was a specific along the privatized highway there. In general I don‘t think the interstates are that good of an infrastructure for hitchhiking, especially if you go for a long distance hitchhiking trip through the USA.

Beside the Interstates you got Highways which are something like the German Bundesstraße. I can not really recommend the Highways either. Traffic moves too fast and often I had problems with the police. Especially in Idaho they kicked me out of the highway regularly and I had to switch to gas stations or slip roads. If you go cross country in the north I would always prefer to take the route through Canada.

Cities in the USA are also a bit special. There are many cars around. Too many. Every person in the USA seems in the need for an own car. They even introduced car-sharing lanes, where you are only allowed to drive if you are with two or more people in the car. Up to 500$ you gotta pay, if you use them while being alone. There are many traffic jams. And this is a chance for us hitchhikers. During rush hour it is very easy to catch rides out of the cities. You can catch them directly on the interstates during the stop and go traffic. Or better take the onramp, if the cars stand all the way back into it.

Tactics for hitchhiking in the USA

I hated it to approach people at gas stations in the USA. And many owner also didn‘t allow that you do it. I got kicked out by sheriffs from those places as well as I gave up, because the people where too annoying. I prefer to thumb along the road. But that was not very expedient as well. Biggest problem was, that most people in the USA are not driving very far. The average length of a ride was below average.

F.e. in Canada the average distance was about twice as high as in the USA. Both countries are similar big, so we can compare this very well. I guess the US-people just don‘t like to travel within their country so much. You an definitely find people on the Interstates that are going cross country. But how to catch those rides the best I couldn‘t figure out. If you have an idea, let me know.

Hitchhiking onramps in the USA is a bit laborious. Of curse it differs between the states and it is often the only option anyway. Maybe a sign might be useful, but as you might know, I am never hitchhiking with signs.

One advice I can give here:

You should dress as serious as possible. As I told before, people have a strong association of hitchhikers, people without money, criminals, wicked people, prisoners, scum…etc. Even when I was in my hitchhiking suit people tended to throw money and food at me, because they thought I was homeless. Maybe shaving would have helped. But the stereotype is deep inside their heads.

Also you will get into a lot of police controls and they will be far more relaxed, if they recognize that you are sane. Sometimes they might even give you a ride to get off the highway. I had a lot of rides with the police. As much as in no other country in the world. Always in the prisoner box in the back!

In general I just wanted to point out, that it is worth to look a bit different from the rest of the folks on the road. Even if you stay punk within yourself. When I was hitchhiking through California recently, I had a green military coat and looked a bit aristocratic in it. I had the feeling hitchhiking through the USA worked much better this way.

But anyway. However you look, if you hitchhike through the USA stay sober in any case!

Specifics

Contrary to other claims, Hitchhiking in the USA is not forbidden! Just in some places there are laws against hitchhiking. But the legislation within the states is different and in most of the states yoz are allowed to hitchhike. But even in states where hitchhiking is forbidden, the question is still if the law is enforced or not. Often it is up to th officer that controls you and they, sometimes, don‘t even know about the specific laws about hitchhiking in their state.

In the worst case you will get a fine, but I don‘t know anyone personally who got to get one. But to have it complete: In Utah, Idaho, Nevada, as well as New Jersey and Delaware hitchhiking is officially forbidden. But in Idaho f. e. I had plenty of police controls and never any problems, even rides with the police. A good overview about the states should give this map. Furthermore it might be interesting to have a loser look to the actual laws, Sometimes it is forbidden to solicit rides at the side of the road, but you can go to gas stations and ask there. Hitchhiking can mean many different things. Be creative. Most important is, that you get the next ride.

I mentioned already that everything in the USA is bigger and more snobbish than in other places of the world. One of the peaks of this gigantism you could observe in the North American Caravan Culture. Caravans are in the USA as big as a touring coach in Europe. And because this is not enough, most people also pull their oversized trucks behind themselves. Here this would be a rig with a trailer, there it is just the pensioner going for some holidays. Strange.

There are lots of awesome national parks in the USA which can be visited. Beside the big, famous parks (Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon) I can recommend the Zion National Park. Also you find the famous Redwoods in northern California. Beside Cannabis farmers and Hippies you will find some of the biggest trees in the world out here. A must see if you going to have a trip along the Westcoast.

New York. This city. They say, if you can survive in New York, you can survive at any place in the world. Seems legit. New York is very impressive with all its skyscrapers and glamorous but also shameless expensive. You pay for everything, too much in New York and in the end you have to tip 20% on top of this. But happy us it is also a very good place for dumpster diving. There is my most favorite dumpster in the world: Sushi at the Time Square. Every night fresh and for free. Have a look it is worth it!

And btw. you can fly pretty cheap to the USA. I shouldn‘t promote this here, but it is so damn cheap and I would rather see my crowd take those places than anyone else. With Norwegian airlines you can fly from Oslo to New York from 86€, one way. This is the cheapest connection I know. But even to the Westcoast and starting from Central Europe you should be able to find flights with return for not more than 450€. Bes is to book directly on the Norwegian website. Don‘t order any food, you can bring it with yourself for the flight. Makes it cheaper.

Police controls are often and they might take a while. Especially in the border regions, they always have to check with the state police, as well as with the federals. Don‘t be surprised. If you get into a control (and you will for sure) stay calm and friendly. Always follow the advices of the law enforcers and try to get a ride with the police if it brings you into a better positioning. They call this courtesy rides and they are the way to go while hitchhiking in the USA. And the police always shows up with at least two cars, because every policemen in the USA has to have his own car. Like everyone in the USA in general, I have the feeling.

Impressions

Der Beitrag Hitchhiking in… (19) the USA erschien zuerst auf Warm Roads.

If you go hitchhiking your speed is all about your technique. In day-time the advanced and not-advanced hitchhiker might move with more or less the same speed. But with the right equipment and technique you can also move through the night without any problem. There is less traffic, but therefore the cars will go further. More experienced hitchhikers use the night for their movement as well as the day.

On my „Royal Stage“ from New York to Alaska I achieved a very good time while rushing through Canada. I had one of my best runs going from Thousand Islands border USA/Canada to Otter Falls/Haines Junction in Yukon Territory. I did 6071 km in 107h 8m; Ø56 km/h. I think this is faster than driving by yourself. And since this tour had a acceptable length, I would like to call it my personal best time.

In the Russian hitchhiking school you calculate an average speed of 50km/h during summer-time and 40 km/h during wintertime. This counts for most of the developed countries like Iran, USA, Kanada, Russia, Germany, Argentina, etc. The calculation has to be adapted if you move through mountainous territory with serpentines. In general the road is getting slower the higher it is. In technically more difficult regions your covered distance can drop down to 200-300km per day. I experienced that, when I hitchhiker through the Bolivian high plateaus.

The longer your tour is, the harder it is to keep up the speed. If I would have traveled only 3 km/h less on my Canada crossing, that would have meant in the end 321 km less distance. 3 km/h less sounds not much, but it really makes the difference in the end.

When I started hitchhiking we always calculated with twice of the normal driving time (if you drive by yourself, including rest and sleeping breaks). For beginners this is a good landmark, which is easy to achieve. If you fail this, you do something wrong. But in my covered routes through Asia, as South and North America, you can see, that the Russian calculation is realistic, especially if you move a longer distance.

If you hitchhike alone you will always be slightly faster than going as a couple. With three person your average speed will drop significantly. Border crossings are always different, but you can calculate an average delay of one our, when getting into a new territory. Crossing cities is a big issue and you should calculate around two hours more, than the normal driving time, especially if you need to fight your way through a Moloch like La Paz or Panama City. With or without public transport. Crossing cities is one of the hardest things to do and you can lose much more time here, if you are an unexperienced hitchhiker.

The more experienced the hitchhiker is, the less will be the difference in the movement speed between each other. And this is independent from age or gender. Who argues, that you hitchhike faster with a woman, just because she is a woman, has not enough own experience to convince drivers to stop. And if one of my female hitchhiking comrades is hitchhiking faster than me, then it is about her advanced technique and not about her pussy.

In general I want to show with this article, that hitchhiking is able to be scheduled and your speed is most dependent on your skill. This includes body language, clothing, attitude, gesture, facial expression, how good your communication is and how charming you can make cars to stop. Also your positioning is very important and that you avoid tactical mistakes like, letting the driver decide where to put you or taking rides that won’t bring you any advantage. All that are parameters which affect your speed and they are much more important than pure luck. Who argues that hitchhiking is about luck might not know how to hitchhike properly.

Der Beitrag Personal best – How to calculate your hitchhiking speed erschien zuerst auf Warm Roads.

Looking through the window at my side. To the driver pointing on me: „He has no seat-belt.“ Driver: „Ahm…well. There is no seat-belt on this side.“ Policemen: „This is forbidden, you can’t drive like this.“ Driver: „Okay, what are we going to do then?“ Police: „How about….a coffee?“ Driver: „One dollar for a coffee?“ Police: „Yes.“

Canada

Note: It is forbidden t hitchhike in British Colombia.„Where are you heading to?“ „Vancouver.“ „What, all the way? Well….there is a bus station, I could give you a ride to.“ „Nono, it is alright. I am hitchhiking. It is not far. One ride and I am there.“ „Yeah thats true.“ „I just wanted to walk a bit further, I don like this position. Maybe use the onramp over there.“ „You can walk under the highway pass. There is more space to stop. And you sure will find a ride.“ „Cool.“ „The guys from the highway patrol might give you a hard time, when they see you. I don’t care, I am not from the highway patrol, as you can see.“

Northern California

Two cars stop. „What are you doing here?“ „Hitchhiking.“ „You are not supposed to do that here!“ I give him already my passport. „aha, where are you going?“ „Seattle.“ „To the jail?“ My suit, my suit….. He checks my papers, the younger cop arrives and starts chatting with me. „Ah don’t worry, you are not in trouble.“ As if I would be worried. I tell him my story. The other cop comes back. „Hey Frank, this guy hitchhiked all over the world!“ „Really?“ „Man, I would love to give him a ride to Winters, but I guess this wouldn’t help.“ Third car arrives, which is very unusual. They called for the Sergeant. Now all three of them are surrounding me. Sergeant: „Where are from?“ „Pardon?“ He gives me a clap on the shoulder. „Where are you from?“ „Oh, Germany.“ „Nono, where in Germany?“ „Frankfurt.“ „Oh, I lived in Frankfurt for two years. And Frank, you also lived in Germany, right?“ „Right.“ Short chat about how beautiful Germany is and that they really liked Sachsenhausen. Then they suddenly all turn around and walk to their cars. While they go the Sergeant said: „Well, you are not supposed to hitchhike here. So….hitchhike your way out! I don’t want to read about you afterwards!“ Alright.

Special: The Mexican

„They deported me already 13 times.“ „Really?“ „Yes, but I always came back! They fly me out, then I go dancing, to some party in Tijuana. And when I am drunk, I go back.“ „So it is possible to cross the border?“ „In the past it was easier. But I know how to do it. If you do it the first time, it might be difficult. But I did it so often, not a problem. If they catch me and deport me, I just try the next day.“ „Do you have friends, that pick you up from the border?“ „Nono, my family sends me money and I take a Taxi to the Greyhound station and then go by bus. I don’t know why they still deport me. It is a waste of money!“

Der Beitrag Traffic Exists. Hitchhiking Possible; (12) The very best of: Police controls erschien zuerst auf Warm Roads.

Shit. Slip road blocked. Poor guy, but I can’t help him. Especially if he doesn’t want to. I walked to the gas station and was looking for a car there. Sometime later another weirdo came to the ramp and they started to have a „conversation“. Weirdo 1 was standing in the middle of the street and screaming towards weirdo to: „Leave me alone“ Don’t get near me!“. The he saw me, standing on the other side of the road and watching the scenery: „Hey dude, now you can come and safe me.“ If somewhere is trouble, usually my inner mediator appears and I have to do something. So I started walking across the street, to look whats going on there. It was close to escalate.

Half way through I thought to to myself…..no…actually….I don’t want that to become my problem now. So I turned around. The two weirdos seemed to become friends afterwards. They became even a team. Weirdo one was sitting on his backpack and still with his head between his legs, while weirdo two had a sign now and tried to hitchhike. Which was more like, bumping the sign aggressively on peoples front shields, while they pass by. Interesting technique. I doubt they made it.

I found my next ride at the gas station. Seemed to be the better option in this situation. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against weirdos, however fucked up they are, I am always up to help, if they want. But they are not the best company for getting the next ride.

Der Beitrag Traffic Exists. Hitchhiking Possible; (11) Blocked slip road erschien zuerst auf Warm Roads.

I was at the end of my expedition. The hotel should give me some shelter against the cold. It was build of containers. The inside remembered me a bit of Star Trek. The friendly guy at the reception said, I can wait in the TV room and get warm. Also they would have breakfast for 10$. Winners breakfast. I couldn´t say no. I paid and moved towards the dining hall. The friendly guy from the reception said, that it would also be possible for me, to make myself a lunch package for the way and that I could grab one of the ready-to-go sandwiches out of the fridge. That was so awesome! A well as the strawberries with whipping cream.

After I wrote and published my Expedition-Closing-Post, I went back onto the highway and tied to catch a truck to Fairbanks. There are hardly any cars on the 666 km long Dalton Highway, especially in the winter time. There are no houses or villages in between Dead Horse and Fairbanks. Only one truck stop half way. Every truck that passes would go to Fairbanks. Actually pretty easy. Unfortunately there where only 1-2 trucks passing by each hour. Two times I went out for waiting around 60 minutes but had to go back into the hotel afterwards. -35° have been to challenging.

Hitchhiking in the coldest winter

At least the Black Gold gave me a warming welcome. “It feels like you would already live here”, said Michaela, who was the boss I suppose. “Do you need a job?”, asked the friendly receptionist and laughed happily. I laughed with them. When I stepped out the third time, already waiting for 30 minutes, no truck passed by, some of the kitchen workers came out. He was observing me and we started chatting. He asked if I am hungry and that I should come into the warm hotel and he would give me some food. Of course I had nothing to say against some offered warm meal. It was already 5 in the evening and “getting dark” again. They were all so fucking friendly. I got some vegetables, yummi rice with stuff in it and chicken wings. Also a comfortable leather couch and football on a plasma tv. I started realizing, that it might get difficult, to get out of this place!

Fourth try. There was a truck waiting. I approached the driver. He would go South later. And yes he could take me. Would go around 9. I stepped out at 8 to hitchhike another time and he was gone. Left me behind. I was kind of disappointed. While getting back into the dining hall and asking desperately one of the many oil workers, if he would be a truck driver, I saw the guy from the other truck sitting at a table and chatting with Michaela. He said, that they got a job on the oil fields and will stay till a bit longer here. Making money. No ride out of Dead Horse. My last hope for this day died.

And so I was standing at their table and we talked about my trip and how I could get out the best. I can´t remember how exactly the conversation went, but Michaela asked me, what I would do in the night. I said I would just hang out somewhere, where it would be warm. I am used to this, so no problem at all. Silence followed. She looked at me: “Do you need a room?” I was surprised. I said, that I don´t necessarily need a room, but if she offers me one……the friendly guy from the reception was adviced to give me a room. I was told several times, that I should go to bed, have a long rest and that they would take me to the terminal in the next morning. The place where most of the trucks clear their load. What a beautiful offer. Thank you so much Black Gold Hotel!

Hitchhiking with airplanes

Next morning she knocked at my door to wake me up and said, that there is still 30 minutes breakfast, just in case if I want. Afterwards we drove to the terminal. I had this idea to hitchhike an airplane and I knew that there will be two flights going out of Dead Horse this day. The first airline, Ravn, couldn´t help me, The manager was not there. Probability of success: Low. The second airline could not help me. The manager was not there. Probability of success: Impossible.

So I went back on the street. Today it was colder than yesterday. My beard was freezing again, but also my scarf, which I used to cover my nose against the wind with, started freezing and finally my scarf and my beard froze together. Not an easy hitchhiking day. I did not want to go back into the hotel they were so friendly to me and I didn´t wanted to exploit their hospitality. So I hitchhiked back to the airport.

I got picked up by some oil workers and an elderly woman who shouted with me. That I can not do that. I can not hitchhike in this temperatures. What the fuck I am doing here. And that I should take a flight to get out here and not go back on the road again. But I had no choice. It was close to one. I knew that around two a flight with ravn would leave to Fairbanks. I went to the terminal again to give it a second try. The manager was there this time and told me, that they can not put me on an airplane for free, even if there are open spots. I had to play my trump.

Flashback: It was 2,5 months ago, that I hitchhiked through the US with a guy who was pilot for Ravn Airlines. He gave me his number and said, that he can give me a boarding pass for a one way ticket to every destination the fly to. For only 30$ administrational fee. Originally I did not suppose to take this offer, because even for 30$ it is not hitchhiked. The normal flight would have cost around 400$. But now my expedition was over. I had to get conscious about this fact. Taking a flight under special circumstances should be all right. One week before there would not have been a question about this. For sure I would have hitchhiked out, however long it would have taken me and however painfully the cold would have treaten me. But now I thought: “ Well, okay.”

Getting out of this shit!

The only problem was, that I had the number and name of the pilot, but nothing more. And he had to book the ticket within one hour. Hopefully I could reach him. While the airline manager was looking for the telephone, another guy started talking to me. He was sitting behind the counter all the time and followed our conversation. He asked for the pilot and his name. Then he said. “I can give you a boarding pass!” He was pilot as well. This way it was much easier and for sure I would make it into the airplane. We chatted briefly, asked the manager for permission, I gave him all my left money (22$, but he said it is okay) and so I got my ticket.

As I checked in the manager was at the door and controlled my ticket. I was the last person. “I am glad you made it on the flight”, he said, “If you would not have gotten a leg-pass from the pilot, I would have given you one of mine. We are happy to help and it is no fun to get stucked here.” Wow, this generosity. Didn´t expect that. And so I was sitting finally in my airplane to Fairbanks and had for 22$ my first paid-flight of my whole journey.

Thanks to all the wonderful people in Dead Horse. Don´t know how I deserved all this. The place itself was absolutely hostile and one of the first places I perceived as really dangerous (regarding to the climate). Rough nature up there. I searched a long time for this experience. But this article should tell another story: That you should trust the unkown, even if you don´t know what the fuck you will run into! Something I learned out of this experience.

Der Beitrag Escaping Dead Horse erschien zuerst auf Warm Roads.

Earlier in December I realized, that I won´t get a Russian Visa outside of Germany and my whole plan to cross the Bering Strait would not become true. I could have had invested a lot of money to overcome this issues, but it is not worth at all. The B-Plan to cross the Pacific by sailboat would have taken an additional 6 months, only to get to Australia, before working my way north towards Asia. Not an option for me. I don´t want to spend another year on the road. I am tired. Exhausted.

I lived that dream to achieve a full circumnavigation with hitchhiking. And I let go of it now. I will not make it. I will take a flight across the Pacific. With this flight I will violate the only rule: Not using public transport. Some know I violated this rule already, but it is less than 1 % of my overall distance. Not important at all. But flying over the Pacific is not acceptable, however I would turn it. I will fail.

I should go for it till the end….some say. But I passed a certain point during this journey and realized, that it is not that important for me anymore. It hurts to go this step, after I dedicated myself to this expediton for such a long time. I feel ashamed towards myself, that I don´t make it. Deep shame, because I disappointed my own expectations. This is how it feels. It is important for me to be honest towards myself. I fail. Have to see it that way and deal with it. It will be okay.

Ending the expedition does not mean to end my vagabonding, but to start some leisure time, slow down and see people I love. It is not about the hitchhiking anymore. Now it is about me. But of course the hitchhiking goes on. I will fly to Hong-Kong in May (and make a stop in Japan). From there I am gonna hitchhike home to Germany. I will do some detour, cross Mongolia, Kazachztan, Central Asia, Iran and everything else on my way back. I want to hitchhike the infamous Pamyr Highway. Hopefully be home at the end of the summer.

The road was very lonely in the past time. I loved it. And I suffered it. Which makes me love it anyways. This expedition was definitely the most exciting and adventurous time I ever went through. It is a blessing that this became a part of my life. Something very special. But also something I worked very hard for. I am exhausted. It feels like it is time for change. I need sleep.

I want to have a home. I want to be back in my lovely Leipzig. I want to see my family and friends. I want to have a regular life. Want to chill at the Hitchgathering and visit fellows around Europe. Of course, I can´t wait to do some hitchhiking races with my boys again. And I want prepare some „smaller“ adventures that have nothing to do with hitchhiking at all. Got some ideas. So much I want, which I can´t do on the road. It was never my plan to be a full-time vagabond. I guess: Time to settle down. Soon.

I still have miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep.

Warm roads

Here are some impressions from the past trip. Unfortunately I have no foto of Prudhoe Bay, cause it is dark here.

Wild animals

Here is Mister Moose. Or Mrs. Moose? Clamsy animal.

My driver is posing with a porkupie, which we found on the way. I should stuck in Beaver Creek for two days, 30km away from the Alaskan border and DJ offered me his couch to stay for the night. It would be the first real sleep I had, since entering Canada.

Maybe licking some salt?

Definitely one of the highlights have been those wild buffalos. Thought they would not exist anymore. But they looked very healthy and relaxed.

Roads

Hitchhikers hell in Wawa. EVeryone told me not to stuck there. Here during Twilight. -15° and -25° winchilld. I was waiting two hours for my next ride. Miserable cold.

Already on the Alaskan Highway. More dirt road than highway. But beautiful.

This part between White Horse and the Alaskan border was one of the most beautiful roads I have ever driven. Behind Hayes Junction the mountains started and the Yukon shows itself with full beauty. I never saw a landscape that felt so spacious like here. And I drove a lot of roads. This one was very special.I felt small and developed respect for this wild nature.

My Indian driver with a historic wodden railroad bridge in the back. Nice guy!

Stop at Hotsprings in Yukon.

Prudhoe Bay

Here in the far north you either let your car running all the time, or plug it to electricity. Otherwhise it might not start again.

Main road out of Dead Horse. Windchill -36° today.

Prudhoe Bay flat and hostile. Nothing here but Oil industry. Not even sun at the moment.

Der Beitrag I hitchhiked from Germany to Alaska. The end. erschien zuerst auf Warm Roads.

In my 10 day calculation is included, that I might rest 2 nights, if people invite me. Also I might be stuck somewhere for whatever reason. This route as a kind of masterpiece for me and I am really looking forward to it! I wanna have this delicious trip in one part, without stopping in between. I want to be fully into this. Because being on the road is what I love.

In the following article I want to talk with you about:

How to analyze and plan a long-distance trip like this? What strategy I chose for the winter hitchhiking and in general what to say about the New York – Alaska passage.

Let´s go together through certain characteristics of the trip and im gonna share my thoughts.

Building a strategy

First of all, and this is most important, what to do when going on a long tour like this: Make a plan! Think about the upcoming tour! This might go without saying, but I think that is something that we gotta be very aware of. And as I wanna approach this topic from the scratch, we better give some credit to this point.

If you wanna do a successfull hitchhiking trip, sit down and plan it. With a proper map. You have to create a game plan to make a good tour. Get an idea about tipping points and chances. When I went from Stockholm to my home base in Leipzig, I knew that behind Kopenhagen is a good place to catch something out during the night. I was there around 02:00 and got a lift to Hamburg soon after. Worked. When i approached Lima I knew it was a goddamn moloch and I had to avoid at any costs to get dropped in this city. So I consciously searched a ride before the city limit all the way to the other side. Worked well. Would never have taken anything different.

You can work on this also while you´re on the road. Thats why you need a map. It is the basis for a good decision making. When you are on the road for several days you need to keep the overall run in focus. You will have hard times, you will have easy times, but don´t slacken or you get in the real deep shit, that will cost a lot of time. If you have a run, stay concentrated. If you have a bad time, keep trying. Never give up! The next lift is near. Especially the night hitchhiking will be most crucial for a successful run.

Let´s have a look at the route together.

Route and Cities

I know half of the route already through my testrun and have also a full list of 24/7 gas stations between Calgary and Montreal. I know the Transcanadian Highway works well and I am not taking an alternative route through the USA, even if it might be a couple of hundred kilometers shorter. Rather watch out for long-distance lifts in Canada. Good experience I can count on in this case.

What awaits me further north in and around Alaska is something I can just guess and put together from conversations with locals and other hitchhikers. Definitely not much traffic. Last part between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay will be mostly trucks operating. I am aware of this. But, some good news for hitchhikers: In Alaska is even a law that you gotta stop, if someone is standing at the side of the road and might be distressed. So people will most likely stop. If there is traffic. And people won´t leave you in the middle of the shit, cause they know how dangerous those conditions are. I trust my drivers in this case.

Cities are always an issue. I got to cross some of them in Canada. All in front Winnipeg I remember as very unpleasant to hitchhike through. But also Regina, Saskatoon and of course Edmonton are on the list. The advice is quite simple: Don´t arrive in the late night, which will for sure result in stucking for a few hours and lose too much time. If this happens I necessarily got to be at a 24/7 gas station to have a little chance catching the next ride. Although not all gas stations might provide a good hop-out into my direction. Got to choose rides and drop-offs wisely here. Also commuter traffic in the morning is annoying and I would not count on it. Intuitive the worst time for hitchhiking, because it is a lot of traffic but no one wants to pick up. Anyway: Best is to be there during daylight with enough time to cross, or just shoot directly through the place.

Weather

It is pretty clear, that hitchhiking into Alaska during January will offer the experience of damn cold climate. I expect temperature down to -35° and a strong merciless wind in the Prairies of Canada. Wind is a considerable source of misery during the cold, if not the worst. The coldest temperatures will be expected in the Prairies, as well as during the last part North of Fairbanks. Beside that I can not say, if I will run into any Blizzard or other spontaneous weather phenomenas. However: It is gonna be fucking cold! This conditions are not fun and mistakes might be unforgivable. I am aware of this and will prepare myself.

I have to check the weather daily and also talk a lot to my drivers if mother nature is freaking out around us. I need to know, if certain roads are closed, especially when passing through the Rockies. Maybe the weather is forcing me to take 1-2 day break on the road somewhere. Hopefully not.

The right equipment will be another important aspect. I by myself work with layers. I got a windproof winter jacket, which by itself might be not warm enough, but my friend gave me a nice down feather jacket, which I will put under my normal jacket. Beside that some long underwear. Two pairs of socks (thin and warm), long-sleeve shirt, special insulated ski-trousers, some -100° winter boots and a trapper head.

I will get some high-quality mittens in Canada and also some cheap thin wool gloves for wearing under them. This is important. You can´t do shit with mittens, sometimes you will need gloves. If you touch steel with you bare hands in -40° you will burn yourself pretty quickly. I even heard stories about people who lost all their fingers, cause they dropped their car keys into the snow and couldn´t find it. Shit happens. So better have „some“ protection, just in case you need to take off the mittens. Avoid cotton in your equipment. If it gets wet, it stays wet and this can be very unpleasent in cold temperatures.

Another point, which especially on a long-distance tour is of importance, that the cold makes you more tired. I might be able to camp outside until -20° at least, but wanna avoid this if possible. But I know from my testrun: The cold is sucking your energy out of the bones. It is much harder to stay awake several nights in those conditions. In Colombia or Mexico I could just lie in the sun and take some rest, during the day. Easy. Not possible on this route. Gotta keep an eye on my well-being.

Another thing is: The cold itself is not the biggest problem, but waiting in the cold is what makes you cool down. But I can make some gymnastics whenever needed. Or how our Russian fellows say: Against cold it helps to move. Against tiredness helps to sleep.

Daylight

Something to consider, especially in the winter: The days are much shorter. When I leave New York we will have approximately 7,5 hours between sunset and -rise in Edmonton. In Fairbanks it will be less than 4 hours during this time and checking for Prudhoe Bay resulted in the information, that there is no sunrise at all. Can´t say how much work the twilight will do, but I rather expect nothing to not get disappointed. Why is this important?

You might expect daylight as an issue for finding rides, but that is not a real problem. On my testrun from Calgary to New York, around 60% of my whole distance was covered during the night. And I caught some very good night rides through Canada! Some around 700-900 km long. Moving in the night is a crucial thing on a long tour and it works. So I am not worried about it.

I am more concerned about the cold. Temperatures drop drastically in the night. It is a real threat. You don´t wanna be out there without cover. There is no way I can risk to stuck at an empty crossing during the night. Usually I don´t give a fuck where I am. Even dark places without any light are sometimes my choice for positioning, because I can catch lifts there more easy (sometimes). But in the far north might be very little traffic.

Strategy

You got all my thoughts on that. So, now is the question how to approach the route most wisely? It is quite simple. The last 14 months I mostly used classical hitchhiking, which means for me, standing at the side of the road and stick my thumb out. In Germany and Europe I am used to ask drivers, just because it is so successful and I can move almost as fast as going with my own car by this technique. And this will be the way to go for me on this trip.

I´m gonna stick with the 24/7 gas stations as a matter of safety and ask the incoming drivers. It is like hopping from checkpoint to checkpoint. Who is going around in Europe might know what I mean. This gives me a better opportunity for having control about my lifts and where they go. Sometimes when you thumb, you won´t have enough time to ask all information. Especially when you are miserable you take the ride blindly and find out, that it will put you in another difficult spot. I have to avoid those kind of mistakes.

Also I simply like the Canadians. Talking to them is great fun, they are usually much more friendly than the people in the US and this approach is definitely advisable here. If I won´t get a lift, at least I will have a nice conversation most of the time. Furthermore I can check the number plates and pick the long-distance commuters, which definitely exist in Canada. Hopefully I will find some post-Christmas/New Year people going all the way back home to Alaska from….let´s say New York.

I am not focusing on trucks until I am in Alaska. The success rate is just to small in the southern regions. Once I am in more rural areas, I will give it a try. Also I might use the chance during the day to thumb directly on the highway, but I´m gonna decide this spontaneously. But my main approach is „gas station hopping“.

I won´t write another roadtrip article about this tour, but if you want you can follow me on Facebook, where im gonna post regular status updates and positions. I wish you a Happy New Year and myself warmroads.

Der Beitrag Long distance winter hitchhiking – From New York to Alaska erschien zuerst auf Warm Roads.

It was already 22:00 Sunday evening, when he dropped me at the yards. I didn´t expect to catch anything, because Sunday´s are usually not pleased with a lot of trains. I prepared myself for a long, cold night. The yard was known for its Bull and I prefered therefore to hop in the darkness. I nestled myself in one of the grounded cars and smoked a cigarette.

To my suprise after 30 minutes there was a train incoming. Into my direction! Action time. Adrenalin entered my venes. This should be the first time, that I get on a car by myself, without company. The train was long and mostly composed of Pig-Trailers. Junk. Not to good to hop on, but anyway I was aiming the End-Unit. Before I would stop trainhopping, I wanted to catch a ride in an End-Unit! So I walked 5 minutes to the end of the train and was suprised again, because there was no End-Unit. Fuck. Gotta find another car fast then!

While searching a second train came in. Also in my direction. What an exciting night. First I thought a car with railroad workers came along the tracks, but then I saw it was actually a whole train. I had to hide myself, while he was passing into the yards. He stopped far away from me, seems like the priority train. I might be able to reach it. So I walked back. Again around 5 minutes. I saw some open box cars. Always wanted to ride in a box car, but they were bound to the wrong train. So I continued walking. Need to catch the priority train!

Finally I reached the train. I could walk between the wagons in good cover. Nobody would ever see me here. Most of the cars were junk again and not possible to ride with. While checking the cars, suddenly I heard steps. Railroad workers! Maybe they are inspecting the train…..I stand rooted to the ground. Scared! If they find me, I might have a big problem. I had to merge with the darkness and become a Ninja! Quietly I waited on my position. Again some steps. Voices. Someone is talking somewhere. But it was not coming from the tracks….

In front of me was a Gondola. Such a beautiful car. The voices seemed to came out of there. Can only be a bunch of trainhoppers! I climbed across the edge of the car and looked inside. Some Boyz sitting in there! Three Hobos, who looked like coming from a Steampunk-Convention and in between a 50 pound heavy dog: „Still a puppey!“. They were shocked in the first moment, when I looked into the car. „Hey guys, do you have some space for me?“. Feeling of relief came up. „Yes, yes of course!“. One of them immediatley jumped towards me, to help with my luggage. As soon as I was in the car the first command came: „Down!“ Stay safe and hide.

We started chatting. The three boyz stucked in that town for one whole week already. No clue how the fuck they could not manage to catch out anything in one week, as the UP runs daily through that yard. Somehow they really fucked it up. I gave them some cigarettes which we were not supposed to smoke until the train would roll („Somebody could see the smoke!“). They shared their beer with me, we had some stuff to smoke. The ride promised to be entertaining (and cold). I mean, Gondolas are in general the best cars to have a nice party in!

I can not remember any of the boyz names, but I know that at least one of them was already in jail because of Trainhopping and he would get into serious trouble, if they catch him again. Lucky us they had a cellphone to call in the cars. Unfortunately only crap came out of this investigation. Okay. Only northbound from here. Can not be so bad. We took place on top of the load of the Gondola. It was a bunch of concrete sheets. You should never ever sit in between the wagon and the load.

The train was starting. It was the most brutal drive I ever experienced. You could hear the cracking clutches from the front of the train long before we actually moved. klack, Klack, KLack, KLAck, KLACk, KLACK. This bloodcurdling sound which came closer and closer till it finally broke away our Gondola, with a huge bang like during an explosion. Jerkily we started moving. Rad experience. Trains are brutal.

The night promised wonderful starry sky. I didn´t took any effort to look out of the car. My enthusiasm for scenery was not very big anymore. I rather wanted to survive this ride. sleeping pad and sleeping bag packed out, I used some 5000-mile paper to construct some warm box for my feet. Then just wrap yourself as good as possible against the cold and steady airstream. The Gondola produced heavy vibrations. Left-ride, forth and back as sensitive as an Ogre who lulls a baby into sleep. It was a very uncomftable ride.

In the middle of the night some of the guys tipped on my shoulder. If I had a cigarette? Sure. He said, he has something to trade. I gave him a cigarette and he gave me something small and flat. „What is this?“ „Acoin.“ I couldn´t understand. „Is it acid? Drugs?“ Don´t know why I thought that. Maybe wishful thinking. „No, a coin.“ „What is this?“ „It is an old Gipsy currency. Not used so much anymore.“ Indeed it was a coin. Now I understood. I found that a pretty cool thing and was really happy about this gift. I really like that Hobo-Subculture.

Around sunrise it tipped on my shoulders again. Somehow I manage to sleep within the ice-cold breeze and the constant shaking of the car. „Dude, we are at our destination. We packed our stuff already. Next stop will be yours. Just stay on the train.“ The three where ready to go. I gave another round of cigarettes and asked if I can take a photo. The train stopped roughly. The boyz went down quickly. Suddenly the Air-Break pumped again. There was still pressure on the hoses.

The poor dog, who was so nervous all the time, started to cry. „Quiet!“, he got a little clap from his owner. The dog was lifted on the edge of the car and jumped down from 4m height. Looked unhealthy. The same moment the train started to roll with a heavy jerk. The last of my new friends was still sitting on the edge and had to hold on the car, not to fall down. Boyz boyz, what are you doing here? Dangerous life. Then they disappeared. I crambled my stuff together and hide. We were rolling into the yard and stopped. Crew Change. I observed the periphery cautious.

I was waiting for two hours. Then I realized slowly, that we might not be on the main tracks but in the middle of the yards. My train would not continue. Shit. It was daytime and I had to get off that train. To the nearest road was about 150m away and in between were around 4 trains to overcome. One of them recently came in. The yards were busy. Everywhere railroad workers drove around with machines and cars. And a bull for sure.

This would be another catwalk. Not what I wanted to do, but no choice. I climbed out of my car. Running to the first train. Climbing through the car. Observing the yard. Jumping on the next train. A Pick-Up was coming. Fucking shit. Had to hide! Hope they did not see me. Got some cover on the side of the car. It passed by. I went on. Just the train left that just came into the yards. Usually you shouldn´t climb through trains at all, but walk around. And especially never climb through trains which are not grounded and could continue every second! Anyway, I was in the middle of the fucking yards. I waited 2-3 minutes and observed that train. It didn´t move. I had to give it a try to get out of this shit.

Running towards the train. Couldn´t hear any Air-Break. Climbing on the train and try to get ot the other side as fast as possible. Hopefully it won´t start right now. Jumping off. Done! I went to the street and took rest in the first bush I found. What a morning… I did not expect this yard run. Usually you get off the train, before it is grounded in the middle of the shit. Lucky me nothing happened. Every little conflict with the law could have fucked up my whole visa process. I decided not to hop any trains after that. Enough learned. Enough seen.

The whole trainhopping experience was hell of a blast. I never felt more in America than during the time on the freight trains. In general it is not comparable with hitchhiking. Different technique. Different life-style. Different feeling. One of the „last red-blooded adventures in America“, wrote Duffy Littlejohn. I will be back for a more intense trainhopping time. Better prepared. With some technical equipment. More intrigued. Riding the most beautiful routes in North America. Because I just wanna enjoy the show on the road, while riding some freights. It is pure passion. Highball!

Der Beitrag Trainhopping – The Boyz in the Gondola erschien zuerst auf Warm Roads.

Roy had researched the CrewChange information. There should be a hole in the walls through which you can get into the area. There was no hole. We had to find another way. There were two fences that we could climb alternatively. “They are very low there”, Roy said. Climbing fences is also more stylish that crawling through holes. “More style” had also a group of punks that we observed later as they stubbornly ran straight over the rails with their dogs. Amidst the floodlight of the train station. Seemed to work.

As we were talking about further plans I saw a car patrolling. “Down!” I barked towards Roy. Instantly we dived into the high grass. Security was around. Stay low and don’t be spotted. The car stopped 70m next to us, turned slowly and drove away. “Good call.” Roy said appreciatively. Time to get towards the Hop-Out. It was getting to hot here. We sneaked over some dead tracks arriving at the first fence that was already “prepared” by some train hoppers and easy to surpass. Again running over the tracks, another fence, a train rings out. Something is starting towards us. Bad timing, now fast! We jumped down a descent of coarse gravel arriving at the edge of a huge yard. Between us and the rail tracks was nothing promising to hide. About 700m of long, flat and untilled meadow, illuminated by huge floodlight lamps. In the middle of the meadow there was an unused tower with stacked pallets. That was the Hop-Out.

To my surprise the grass was high, reaching up to my bellybutton and provided excellent cover. Crouching we arrived safely at the tower. I had heard of that spot from other hoppers but never imagined what a beautiful spot that was. Besides the tower a stack of pallets was arranged in a way so that inside there was kind of a house with a sleeping surface for 4-6 persons. The grass had a flattened place. You know, like if you enter a cornfield as a child creating a bed at the expense of the farmers’ harvest. That was how this Hop-Out was like. Perfect cover, no (normal) human would ever come to that place and we had perfect sight on the tracks and any arriving train. Through the high grass you could perfectly sneak towards the cars.

We waited for our train, laying down a little. The stars were shining above. The moon hadn’t risen yet. I smoked a cigarette and Roy fell asleep. The Air cooled down but my new leather jacket gave me motherly warmth. An incredible night at a beautiful spot. At some point I also fell asleep. “Stefan!” Roy startled me out of my sleep. A train was arriving. The same short IM I had seen the night before. Definitely a Hot-Shot, but actually I didn’t want to hop that one. Roy was like: “We can do that.” Quickly we packed our stuff, back to ninja mode. “Keep yourself low!” I told Roy.

We went through the cars and found two that we could hop. But not together. There was not enough space. I squeezed under the footboard. Now we have to wait. The train started rolling. After 50m it stopped again. Waiting. I heard the Airbrake. Should be rolling soon again. Suddenly Roy came running: “Stefan, I think we shouldn’t do this! I checked the number and those containers are getting grounded in 5 hours!” What? No time to talk, speak straight. The train might start to roll at any second. Roy had phoned Tracey, the friendly computer voice that knows the goal of any wagon and container. A nice gimmick for professional hoppers.

As we ran back to the Hop-Out Roy was still on the phone checking another wagon at Tracey’s. “This one is going to South California! Let’s go back!” Ok, back onto the car. I was getting nervous. Again hiding, again waiting. And nothing happened. After 60 minutes several cars were cars came alongside the train. The personal disconnected the End-Unit. Very unusual. What was going on here? I watched the scenery and stayed at my spot. Usually a Crew-Change on an IM doesn’t take longer than 30 minutes. If even that long. And now the End-Unit got disconnected. My only chance was to stay down, not being spotted. If anything urgent, Roy would tell me. In the end we will have waited 3 hours for the train to start rolling.

Things I was told the day after. Roy was nervous. He had left the train running to the Front-Unit, checking it. As he was close he heard the airbrake. A pretty safe sign that the train is going to leave, rather suboptimal if your backpack is at the other end of the train. He was sprinting back as fast as possible. Trains can be long, sometimes longer that 1 km. At some time during his sprint, the Bull appeared checking the train with his car. Roy had to hide. Mega action, just to check the units because he didn’t trust Tracey. Still he made it and at around 4:30am we finally started rolling.

Our route was going straight through the salt lake desert. Close to the city boundary it was horribly stinking like rotten eggs but soon we were shooting into complete darkness straight through the salt lake. The track was unique. Only passable with the freight train. No road, no passenger train, just one track on a dam splitting the sea in half. To the left and right of us there was only water or dry salt surface. Above us an enormously clear starlit sky shining bright through the high plains. The crescent moon was rising, 2 days before the new moon. Still you could see the complete form of the trabant. It was rising behind the Rockies sweetening my already breathtaking view on my “double stack”. All together it was again a divine scenery. Train romance at its best.

I hadn’t eaten anything the whole evening because I had waited for that moment. Now I could open my supply bag. I had a can of tuna, dry bread, an apple and Chocolate-Cheesecake Cookies. Additionally Cigarettes and water. Warm wind was blowing. We passed a waiting train. Ha! We are the priority train and you are the pussies! I slipped into my jacket and sleeping bag and fell asleep.

The train is rocking you pretty much and it got pretty cold. My jacket was serving well but not my sleeping bag. Sunset. We had been rolling all night through. The first warm sunrays reached me and I tried to reanimate my frozen feet. At some point the second Crew Change. Before noon. Afterwards we rolled through the desert. The “double stack” had a pretty view but no sun cover. So I was sitting in the blazing sun with nothing to do. All day long. My gallon of water got warm, which was disgusting. But so did my can of ravioli, which was convenient.

A can of fish, two peers and several cookies later we rolled into our final destination after fabulous 16 hours. Usually this ride is supposed to take about 36 hours but we were on a really fast IM. Last exam was to get off the train safely. I had been warned several times about the destination. Many shady characters and cautious Bulls.

Additionally Officer Watson, the local Sheriff, with his pad at hand to give you a ticket for any wrongdoing. The whole train hopping thing was a game with fire for me anyway. I had to get a new US visa and if I got only a small fine somewhere my Alaska expedition would be cancelled. But that train hopping experience was definitely worth that. No guts, no glory.

We were rolling towards our goal. 50km prior to that, in the middle of nowhere a railroad crossing. Unaware of anything I sit on my car admiring the scenery. Suddenly an old man in front of me with a big camera. He spots me, I could see him twitching. He makes a nice picture of me. You can imagine how nervous I was for the last kilometers. If he was calling the cops on me? Will they catch us at the station? Tension. The train rolled into the yards. The brakes stop the huge steel monster.

Doesn’t even take 15 seconds. I was ready, everything packed. Roy jumped off his car and so did I. “Cut and run.” Two black dressed Trainkids. Covered in dirt we sprint in the twilight over the tracks. Reached the streets. Safety. Nobody had seen us. Mission accomplished. Up for a cold drink. Roy had been without water for the last 4 hours. And without shadow. We were both exhausted but so we were happy. 16 hours on the freight train. Like 16 hours in a cradle on a washing machine whilst a 7th grade earthquake is rampaging under your house. An awesome, wicked experience!

Der Beitrag Trainhopping – The Catwalk erschien zuerst auf Warm Roads.

While I was lying around inside the bushes an orange Pick-Up passes two times. At the third time it pulls left before my hideout and a man gets out. Stares towards me. Not sure if he had seen me. But he was staring into my direction for a long time. So that must be the Bull. Shit. I heard a lot about the bull, about his laziness, lack of education, his encroaching when finding a train hopper and how to avoid him. In this case I stayed down as if frozen. He wasn’t moving either. Minutes passed. After some time he got back into the car and drove off.

Fuck, the bull might have seen me. Maybe… but nobody can charge me for lying in the bushes. Anyway a bad start for my mission. It will be way more difficult to catch the train if people in the yards are informed. I went deeper into the bushes, found a small grassland. There I relaxed and killed mosquitos that were attacking me constantly. Hours passed. Waiting for the train. I found funny hobo-graffiti around me: “Ain’t no wrong train.” or “And you think you gonna catch out tonite?” Yes i think so. I was at the right place.

It took some time until the first train was arriving but the Bull was on the runway and also the train didn’t stop. No chance to catch the train on the run. I flattened out my cardboard and tried to sleep within the mosquito swarm. I was really impressed by the cardboard. It kept me warm from the ground, very practical, free and I even thought of switching from my sleeping mat to good old cardboard. It can get dirty and got style. Vagabond-Style.

Night was falling. At some point I risked getting out of the bushes and sneaked along the yard. Completely dressed black I limped, still struck from a 40km walk the day before, around trying to find the crew change point. Where will the train stop. I randomly set up a base at a bushy slope. I had my cardboard making any place a home for me. Life can be that simple. Still, the night was terrible. There were 4 different trains. One was Junk, a short IM with double stacks and two Peddlars. No train stopped. Nothing to hop.

Warm dreams

Again it was chill, my sleeping bag tried its best in keeping me warm. I had different dreams that night. All with the same concept. I was in a scenario where I was cold and tired trying to find a warm sleeping place. And found a comfy couch, warm cubbies and stuff like that. At least after three of those dreams later sun was rising slowly. No train that night. What a disappointment. And at exactly 9am the Bull was driving around in his pick-up. As I was just exiting the bushes I saw him coming. Alarm! Back into hiding.

I don’t think of quitting. But I have to come up with a new plan. I had to catch a train somehow. But first to Walmart stocking up my reserves. Also I got me some Oropax. Optimizing my equipment gradually. I found out on the internet that I waited at the wrong place and that the crew change happened further south in the yard. In general for this yard the guide was: “Catwalk.” The Hop-Out was exposed. I would soon find out by myself, what this would mean. Best strategy: Only use at night. So, waiting again. I walked towards the yards, searched a shady place, unfolded my paperboard and took a nap.

That meaningless waiting. Glorious. Never when hitchhiking, there you are always tensed, concentrated. I was lying in front of some house, some man told me I should take care since I would go to jail if the police catch me here. America and homeless. People stopped randomly dumping garbage. Computer screens, paper boxes. Only when some suckers came rifling through the boxes taking everything of value I realized, this was a clothing donation spot. I wasn’t too well prepared for a cold night on the train so I found myself a leather jacket.

At some point a Mexican guy appeared, maybe around 45 years old, a small backpack and a sleeping bag in his hands. He asked for the best way to Chicago. He also wanted to catch a train that night but he had not hopped for 10 years now. He bought me a Coke and gave me a pair of socks as a present. In return he got a lighter from me. You take care of each other on the road. Sharing is caring!

Where I had slept and sat around all day a small community was forming. Another guy, suntanned, covered in tattoos with a bandana some kind of luggage (A packing of a tablet and a water bottle, fixed together with a string) arrived at our group. He started talking instantly as if we would know each other since years. “I was out of town for 2 years now, just come back and the cops are already after me again.” THE COOOOPS! Supposedly three cars, following him all day long. Just now nobody could see them, maybe coffee-break. Clear case of paranoia or police state? I gave him some cigarettes.

In the nearby yards I saw a human with a backpack, completely in black. The criminal look identified him clearly as train hopper. Short snack. “Are you catching out?” he asked me. “Yes, where are you going?” “California.”. My direction. His name is Roy. We teamed up. Roy was well prepared. One of his friends was apparently close to the author of the Crew Change Guide himself which makes you impressively mighty and he also had the newest Version. 2015. The holy book! We found a nice place near the entrance to the yard and waited for darkness. A great night was in front of us.

Der Beitrag Trainhopping – Catchin out tonite! erschien zuerst auf Warm Roads.