Tell me everything you know about hitchhiking

I'm hitchhiking at end of June with one of my friends (a girl) and one of her male friends.
We plan to hitchhike from northern ontario to vancouver!

Any info you can provide, tricks of the trade and experiences would be appreciated.
We're doing our research! But I thought some tips from the well traveled would be in line.

 

I know enough about it to not want to do it, unless you enjoy the idea of beig stripped, raped and strangled. Yay!! Corpse reference FTW!

 

I have no experience with hitch hiking but have given them a ride a couple of times. You need to watch who you get a ride from, I'd really hate for your last post to be the one right before you leave. Good luck with your trip.

 

That's the worst thing that could happen. Just like going into a car and driving to the gas station you could end up in a horrible accident. They're both just as likely.

 

Really awe, so basically the consensus here is "Don't do it you're going to be raped and killed" I'll bring mace with me?

 

Not mine. I'm pretty realistic about it.

 

Might want to have a knife. Don't have to hide it, just have a pocket knife and carry it casually, clipped to (on the inside, of course.... if you canadian girls don't know how this works) a pocket, as you normally would (....and if you wouldn't, get used to it)

Or at least, that's what I'd do, but I carry my knife everywhere.

Three of you might have a hard time getting a ride, few lone drivers will want to pick up three people who could easily overpower them, once inside their car. You have to take into account that they fear for their safety as much as you do.

Maybe if you could find another person wanting to go, you could split up into pairs, and go that way?

Nothing WRONG with having three, just don't be threatening and be polite, respect peoples cars, wishes, etc.

Mace is okay.... but in my opinion, normal checkout line mace really sucks, you'd be almost as well off putting tobasco in a spray bottle. LEO tactical style mace is the shit you want.... or bear mace

Everything I said is mostly for foolhardy solo riding. If you can get rides with 3 people, I wouldn't forsee any safety problems. I wouldn't take a ride with more than 3 or 4 people who seem like they could pose a threat, ie. when a rusty van full of skin heads stops, don't get in

"crimethINC" has some good stuff on hitchiking and living for free/cheap on the road. Check it out. But bittorrent it or something, don't PAY an anarchist group that wants to abolish money and live as a world of thieves and vandals... Them SELLING their books is the hight of hypocracy, IMO.

You'll be just fine, as long as you can find a ride. Anything can be dangerous, but you're not talking about hitching alone in a bikini or anything...

The expression in your sig is totally the shift from enjoying yourself to "oh shit, why are you touching me there?" :leaving:

 

lmao it definetly is, thanks for the advice man! the only person so far with tips! :2thumbsup:

 

It's probably much safer to hitch in Canada than down here in the US. What roor said is good--be ready to protect yourselves. I suggest a sign saying "Vancouver,please" and a smile. I traveled across Canada in 1970 and there were thousands of people hitching. There were 5 of us that came over from Hawaii,so we could only pick up one at a time. Stayed in youth hostels in almost every place we stopped. Do they still have them? If they do,they would be a good place to pick up rides without the waiting by the side of the road. If your going in the summer--maybe put notice up on Uni bulletin boards for rides west. Good luck--trust your instincts about people. If you're wrong in refusing a ride--no harm done. If you're right--you may save yourself from some grief.

 

I know people who have done it and were never in a dangerous situation, girls included. I've never ventured myself into the world of hitchhiking, I'd do it if I was with friends, but not by myself.

I seem to attract very creepy people though, they offer me rides when I'm walking around in the opposite direction.

 

It has been years since I hitched. I traveled the US during the early 70s. The greatest thing about hitching is patiences. I have waited 1 min for a ride and 22 hrs a ride, so bring a couple of books and a deck of cards. Next, hitch at the beginning of the on ramp, not on the main highway. Cars going fast don't want to stop but when they see you at the on ramp they can check you out and don't mind stopping. I like to use a sign with the destination. Don't clutter your sign with little happy faces and crap just the destination. Bring some water and gorp, peanuts, raisens, and M& M, to have some food that will get you through the times of no food. DO NOT TRAVEL WITH DRUGS! And don't take any from the driver? I learned the hard way that it can be devastating if the driver offers a joint and it is laced with something you ain't ready to ingest then they let you out in the middle of no where. I found that traveling with a woman can be fun but offers it own interesting twists. This is not a place for being too much of a feminist. A little male chivalry is appropriate. I always carried a hunting knife in my boot but I only ever used it for chopping kindling and that sort of thing. People who pick you up or as leary of you as you are of them. Introduce yourself, offer a hand, and smile really helps. Le t them do most of the talking, you will learn and hear some great stories.
Hitching can be a great adventure or a nightmare. If you have any doubts about a ride pass it up. Always ask where they are going? You don't want to end up in "next to no where, Kansas" and the sign helps with this.

I left New Orleans once with my sign saying Los Angles. The first ride a I got was a man driving to LA in a Roll Royce. He needed to get there quick and needed help driving. He paid my whole way, hotel rooms and food. Then when he let me out he drop a couple of hundred on me.
Then I was traveling with a young woman and a trucker pick us up. He was on speed and hadn't slept in days. I still remember the feeling of relieve when we got out of that cab 6 hrs later. I had punctured my hand with my fingernails from the tension.
I never had anyone that really scared me other than him. I was propositioned a few times by men and women. I would never ever go to their home if invited and was invited a few times. I mean that seem nice but then Jeffery Dahmer seemed nice.
Use you head and have a good time, Dr Razzu

 

I hitchhike all the time.. not long trips, the longest ride I got was about an hour.

I´m in south america, so the culture´s a little different. But we are always in groups of at least three, and we always go in pick up trucks. That way we can sit in the back part, and not piss off the driver. We usually dont have any trouble getting someone to stop for us, there are lots of pickup trucks here.. though one or two usually pass before someone stops.

 

See, we now have safety laws that make this impossible without being hassled....

Yeah, I wouldn't ride in the bed of a truck every day, but when I do, it should be my choice, not the DOT's choice.

Pickups do allow a driver to pick up people they otherwise wouldn't, and people to ride when they otherwise might not.

Hitchhiking should be encouraged, but part of the culture we've got in the US tries to make owning your OWN car a big thing (it's nice, but there's no reason you should HAVE to other than to prop up GM) And our culture tries to make you afraid of everyone and everything, so that the government can make new privacy/right stealing laws to protect you. And this all goes against meeting strangers and saving gas.

 

I didn't know that.. thats to bad :/

Oh, it isn't. We purposely flag down trucks instead of cars because its common knowledge that you will ride in the bed, and they are usually much more willing to stop. I've gotten a car to stop a couple times, but thats usually next to impossible. Unless its a really long ride, riding in the bed of a truck is preferable because its so much easier to get them to stop. Not to mention if you have a few people with you (which I usually do) the chances of you finding either a car with a driver that will pick up strangers who will crowd up his car, OR more than one car that will stop (to split the group up) and bring you where you want to go in a reasonable amount of time is very unlikely.

Exactly, I've never once felt nervous getting picked up by a truck. Part of this is probably the fact that trucks make group hitchhiking possible. Power in numbers and all that jazz..

Yeah, if it didn't have such a bad rap, it would probably be a more common practice over there. I am rather hesitant about doing it when I'm in the states, because due to its reputation, the more trustworthy people usually don't even consider picking up hitchhikers. Obviously some of them do, but I would think that because of that attitude, it would be rather likely that you would be picked up by someone you wouldn't want to be picked up by..

 

I know that being 6'5" and looking like a Skinhead, people aren't too inclined to stop for you. :cheers2:

 

For sure, LT, it's a self fulfilling prophecy. If everyone talks about how hitchikers get raped and murdered daily, murdering rapists are going to take a lot more interest in picking up hitchhikers all of a sudden.

To clarify part of my post that seems to have hung you up, the DOT is the US department of transportation, they make the regulations about specific vital vehicle parts such as lights, emission, etc, the operating guidlines(or part of them) and the safety regulations. (of course, these all tie together) I meant that I wouldn't ride in the bed every day as it obviously is dangerous, but that it's MY choice, not theirs, because it's only me that would be in danger. Didn't mean I'd be like "no, I think I'll ride with you in the cab, bitch"

Riding on trucks used to be US culture too, until phasing into our current paranoid culture pushed that out. I remember seeing hikers thumbing trucks all the time when I was a little kid. And before that (I think it ended with the paranoia created to protect the good folks from beatniks, rockers, and hippies) it was just common practice to stop for riders along your route.

Even when the world was more uncertain and deadly, there seems to have been less "the next one you meet!" paranoia. In fact, I seem to remember seeing that sensationalist shit in a lot of early anti pot stuff. Look at that, the war on marijuana ruined the culture of the united states of america.

Beware the friendly stranger, especially if he offers you a toke!

 

i've hitched Ont to BC lots of times, if you still need info, PM me

 

just note the license plate before you get in and immediately call someone on your cell phone and tell them the plate number (and province of plate) so there is someone for the investigators to look for when they find your body