What's The Longest You Waited When Hitching?

[Dogwood]

I'm with m_factor(Mara) on this. Getting to where you want by getting rides is not solely about having to hitchike with your thumb out. Mara is a woman too so it might be nice for other females to get her perspective. Check out her link to get getting rides tips.

[Bronk]

If you're hiking north in the spring you can stop to rest at a road crossing and within a few minutes someone will be stopping to offer you a ride in most cases. I don't think I ever waited more than a few minutes. The only time I had to walk was the two miles into Fontana Village, but when I arrived they had just opened for the season and there weren't very many people coming and going yet. There were several places where I wasn't planning on going into town but when I got to the road crossing someone offered me a ride and the lure of a restaurant meal was too much to resist. I never felt like a vagrant trying to bum a ride. I only remember sticking my thumb out a couple of times...in most cases people offered before I had a chance to ask.

[bamboo bob]

I have a rule. I hitch twenty cars or twenty minutes. On the AT that was fine. The PCT the first car is good just takes a while for her to show up.

[ryanwflynn]

Hitching out of Gaitlinburg was very tough. Hundreds of cars passed and after a few hours of frustration two hiking friends joined and since one was a female, we caught a ride in a few minutes. Felt bad the chap who gave us the ride had his car overheat at Newfound Gap.
Hitching into Rangeley, ME took a while but was eventually picked up by a kind old timer and we had a nice chat in the way into town. Rangeley was deserted early the next morning. After a hearty breakfast, I went to the intersection in town and the first car I saw was same guy I hitched in with. He stopped, said he was not going near the trail but would give me a ride up right away.
You never know what you will get hitching on a long trail!

[Cookerhiker]

On the AT, day-hiking in Connecticut I waited more than an hour. Finally, a young homeless guy with a dog living out of his car picked me up.

On my 2011 Colorado Trail thruhike, we couldn't get a ride to our first resupply stop at Buffalo Creek. Walked 3 1/2 miles down to the general store in the hot sun. But we got a ride back - from a young homeless guy with a dog living out of his car. Deja vu!
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=362823

[Drybones]

I saw this cute little hiker coming up behind me on the trail near Wayha Tower and had her show me the proper techneque for hitching...she was a good sport. She probably never had to wait long.

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[Dogwood]

....I never felt like a vagrant trying to bum a ride. I only remember sticking my thumb out a couple of times...in most cases people offered before I had a chance to ask.

As opposed to myself, who always feels like a vagrant on my frugal too cheap to call a taxi long distance hikes. The AT in the south is great for picking up a hitchiking thru-hiker vagrant like myself. Prolly, because those giving me rides were or are vagrants themselves.....in a stolen truck.

Hitching out of Gaitlinburg was very tough. Hundreds of cars passed and after a few hours of frustration two hiking friends joined and since one was a female, we caught a ride in a few minutes....

Hitching into Rangeley, ME took a while but was eventually picked up by a kind old timer and we had a nice chat in the way into town. Rangeley was deserted early the next morning. After a hearty breakfast, I went to the intersection in town and the first car I saw was same guy I hitched in with. He stopped, said he was not going near the trail but would give me a ride up right away.

You never know what you will get hitching on a long trail!

So true. A cement truck, the kind with the big rotating barrel on the back, screeched to a halt to allow another thru-hiker and myself to climb aboard for our hitches into Rangely. So funny because the poor driver, who was at the end of his shift all grimy and sweaty himself, kept his head out the window the entire time because the two of us reeked so bad.

[Papa D]

without a cute girl, it takes a little longer - sorry to be sexist but I have hitched for my whole lifetime and it's absolutely true. I've waited over an hour - typical wait is 12 to 15 cars or about 15 minutes. Rarely (but occasionally) have been totally un-successful. I've never been picked up by anyone that wasn't genuine and fine. One time I picked up a guy who was a little sketchy - - asked me to take him to a Home Depot - I did - I think he robbed the place because security followed him out and arrested him - I just drove off - - oops - - seriously, hitch hiking is cool and I do it and recommend it - - it's safer and more reliable than a lot of things we do.

[kenp]

30 seconds (2nd car), from outside the Mt Rogers VC heading south, It had just started raining!

I got to elk garden about 6pm a few days later. I walked south along VA600 hoping to hitch a lift. About 4 cars passed in an hour, none stopped. I got to VA58 thinking it would be a much busier road, but had to wait about 20 minutes for the first car to pass. It stopped and brought me to Whitetop Food and Gas, abut a mile down the road. From there a local called Charlie, offered to take me to Damascus for $20, which he did. I got into Damascus about 8pm

Both if these occasions were within a few days of each other, so timing, locale and luck play a huge part in determining how long it will take to get a ride

[Walkintom]

While hitching in NY I waited about an hour and a half. Many cars passed who were not interested in putting my grungy self into their vehicle and never tapped the brakes.

Then I got a GREAT ride. An older lady, who was out running errands stopped for me. While we went to the PO (her errand) she told me a bit about why she stopped. Her husband was a retired college professor. When he was planning his retirement he helped choose his successor, who came to town to assess the job and general local situation and wound up staying at their home for a while before getting her own place. That person had written a book about her hiking experiences on the AT, The Adventures of the Barefoot Sisters. So she knew all about the AT and hiker culture from their time spent around Miss Letcher and now she always stops for hikers.

You're never very far removed from a hiker. Sometimes it just takes a while before a hiker or someone they've impacted drives by.

[Wolf - 23000]

This is one area being an UL hiker has a serious disadvantage. Also being a fairly big guy does not help either.

After waiting over an hour, I've walked into several towns because I could not get a ride. Some of the towns were a good walk too (5+ miles). That was years ago when many hikers really didn't care how much weight they were carrying. Hopefully things have change some.


V/R

Wolf

[nuknees]

I had another thru-hiker teach me how to hitch, I had never done it before. He said the key is location, location, location.

Please share his philosophies!

[fastfoxengineering]

This is one area being an UL hiker has a serious disadvantage. Also being a fairly big guy does not help either.

After waiting over an hour, I've walked into several towns because I could not get a ride. Some of the towns were a good walk too (5+ miles). That was years ago when many hikers really didn't care how much weight they were carrying. Hopefully things have change some.


V/R

Wolf

Why does this put an UL hiker at a serious disadvantage?

There are many ways to improve the chances of being picked up as a hitch hiker. Location is number 1. Appearance is number 2. Certainty and having a plan is number 3.

1 - location should be kind of an obvious one. some areas have locals driving through that know "thru-hiker" season. it's typically easy to get a ride here. as other's have said though, throwing a thumb out around a sharp bend is dangerous and noone is going to slam on the brakes to pick you up... they may slam on the brakes to avoid hitting you though.

2 - buzzcut, grizzly beard, sunglasses, bandana, and a cigarette. Your appearance is kinda sketchy. At least put out the butt and take off the sun glasses so one can identify and get a mental image of your face. Your body language says alot while your standing on the side of the road. Also, people write "hiker to town" on pieces of tyvek and umbrellas. The more you identify yourself as a hiker, the better. You don't wanna look like a homeless guy bumming a ride into town.

3 - when they ask you where your going.. already know the answer. be confident, kind, and polite. Be straightforward though. It helps to check the map/guide to have an idea of the location you want to go into. See if they can answer any questions you may have...

I've gotten some pretty awesome trail magic hitchhiking before... I was heading into a town and as soon as I hit the trail head a guy pulled in and offered a ride... got in his nice '95 Cadillac seville sts. We had the same interest in music and were both going food shopping. We ended up shopping together and having a damn good laugh in the store. He ran into some old college girlfriends at the store.. introduced me and we ended up going to a party at their apartment that night.. I was planning on going back to the trail after shopping but for some reason I just wanted to check out this party. Guy said I could crash at his apartment if need be too. Ended up walking through the door to the party...and one of my trail buddys who I hadn't seen in a 2 weeks was cooking food everyone at the party... I guess he knew the girls too as he was from the area and hit them up as he was passing through.. One of those "No Waayyyy!" moments when we saw each other's face lol.. Had a damn good time that night. I'll remember it forever.

[Wolf - 23000]

Why does this put an UL hiker at a serious disadvantage?

There are many ways to improve the chances of being picked up as a hitch hiker. Location is number 1. Appearance is number 2. Certainty and having a plan is number 3.

1 - location should be kind of an obvious one. some areas have locals driving through that know "thru-hiker" season. it's typically easy to get a ride here. as other's have said though, throwing a thumb out around a sharp bend is dangerous and noone is going to slam on the brakes to pick you up... they may slam on the brakes to avoid hitting you though.

2 - buzzcut, grizzly beard, sunglasses, bandana, and a cigarette. Your appearance is kinda sketchy. At least put out the butt and take off the sun glasses so one can identify and get a mental image of your face. Your body language says alot while your standing on the side of the road. Also, people write "hiker to town" on pieces of tyvek and umbrellas. The more you identify yourself as a hiker, the better. You don't wanna look like a homeless guy bumming a ride into town.

3 - when they ask you where your going.. already know the answer. be confident, kind, and polite. Be straightforward though. It helps to check the map/guide to have an idea of the location you want to go into. See if they can answer any questions you may have...

I've gotten some pretty awesome trail magic hitchhiking before... I was heading into a town and as soon as I hit the trail head a guy pulled in and offered a ride... got in his nice '95 Cadillac seville sts. We had the same interest in music and were both going food shopping. We ended up shopping together and having a damn good laugh in the store. He ran into some old college girlfriends at the store.. introduced me and we ended up going to a party at their apartment that night.. I was planning on going back to the trail after shopping but for some reason I just wanted to check out this party. Guy said I could crash at his apartment if need be too. Ended up walking through the door to the party...and one of my trail buddys who I hadn't seen in a 2 weeks was cooking food everyone at the party... I guess he knew the girls too as he was from the area and hit them up as he was passing through.. One of those "No Waayyyy!" moments when we saw each other's face lol.. Had a damn good time that night. I'll remember it forever.

Well I don't smoke, normally don't wear sunglasses when hitch-hiking and always look for ideal place where it is easy for someone to pull in without endangering themselves or other.

Most people around trail towns associate hikers having a backpack. They understand that long distance hikers are not going to be as clean as someone in town or day hiking. If you ever tried hitch-hiking as a long distance hiker with a school book-bag as a backpack and stand over 6 feet then you might see it is not that easy. To most drivers, I look like a dirty day hiker.

It is a lot easier hitching hiking if your carrying a 20+ backpack but then you really are not hiking UL.

Wolf

[egilbe]

The GF and I are in our early 50's and the first time she had ever hitchhiked was after climbing down off of Katahdin and ending up at Roaring Brook when our campsite and car was at Katahdin Stream. We started walking the 18 miles back and the first car that picked us up was an old retired couple from NC who spent the Summers at BSP. The first thing they asked us if we were through-hikers. We said no, just day-hikers who hiked over the mountain to see the other side. During the ride back, he said he had given a couple through-hikers a ride a few years ago and it took two weeks to get the smell out of his car . We walked maybe a mile before we were picked up, but he gave us a ride all the way to KSC when he was going onto Millinocket. It was a scary ride since he drove like a madman on the dirt roads, but they were a nice enough couple who have climbed Katahdin several times.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Longest hitch ever was coming off the AT/LT at Kelly Stand Road just south of Stratton Mountain in VT. Long (maybe 6 to 8 miles?) and pretty much deserted gravel USFS road, except the last part with some loose pit bulls and such that I thankfully avoided due to the ride, that connected to VT Rte. 7. Walked for about an hour on aforementioned Kelley Stand Road and got picked up by the only vehicle I saw in all that time. A really nice older couple in a camper then went several miles out of their way to drop me in Manchester Center and gave me some ice tea to drink on the way. Now THAT was old school "trail magic".

[rusty bumper]

Walked 3 miles down the road into Erwin with my thumb up before getting a ride.

[Bronk]

I had to walk the 2 miles to the hotel at Fontana Dam, but it was early in the season and there wasn't much/any traffic up there. In most other places in the south if there was a paved road you didn't wait long for a ride. In fact I only remember actually sticking out my thumb one time and I had a ride within a minute or two...the vast majority of the time I got to the road and before I got around to trying to hitch a ride someone had already stopped and offered. In fact, more than once I went into town when I wasn't even planning on it because I was offered a ride.

[Deacon]

I had to walk the 2 miles to the hotel at Fontana Dam, but it was early in the season and there wasn't much/any traffic up there. In most other places in the south if there was a paved road you didn't wait long for a ride. In fact I only remember actually sticking out my thumb one time and I had a ride within a minute or two...the vast majority of the time I got to the road and before I got around to trying to hitch a ride someone had already stopped and offered. In fact, more than once I went into town when I wasn't even planning on it because I was offered a ride.

If you call the Fontana hotel, they will come pick you up at the dam.

[Colter]

There's been a couple times out West where I never did get a ride after several hours. The longest I can recall where I finally got a ride was six hours at Monarch Pass on the CDT. On that same hike, on a road-walk section in Wyoming, I got offered a half dozen rides or so during a snowstorm even though I wasn't hitching at all. On the AT I don't think I ever waited longer than a half hour or so.