View Full Version : re: hitch hiking to re stock supplies
hello,
From what I have read..it seems many of the towns (lodging, post offices, grocery stores) require getting to a "gap" then going 10-15 miles east or west of the trail. This seems to be the case in much of Maine and many parts of Georgia and others.
Is getting a ride relatively easy? I am a little concerned about zillions of cars whizzing past as I wait an hour or more for a ride into town. I will hike a mile or so..but I surely dont want to put 10 miles of off trail hiking in just to get extra food.
So what do you think? is this a concern or will getting rides to and from trail be fairly easy. How far from trail does a town need to be in order to no longer be considered a re supply option? Is it in fact a necessity to hitch hike in order to hike the AT?
Specifically...how about up in the small maine towns that are so widely spaced. I would think the roads there would not be very well travelled.
My preference, where it possible.. would be to only to go into towns that were with in a couple miles of the trail..but I am not sure this is possible. Is it?
If it matters..I plan to be hiking solo..or at least starting out that way.
David
Jack Tarlin
11-06-2005, 15:21
Actually, Maine isn't bad at all.
In Andover, cars stop regularly, and the folks who run the hostels go out several times a day to see if there are hikers that need rides. (And by accepting a ride, you're under no obligation to stay at a particular place. These folks do this because they are nice people).
Stratton can sometimes take awhile, especially getting back to the Trail, but this is a well-traveled road.
Hitching in and out of Rangeley is a snap, same for Monson.
Keep in mind that if you stay at a hostel at any of these places, your stay usually includes a ride back to the Trailhead the next morning.
As for the rest of the Trail, it depends where you are.....hitching down South is pretty easy, the people are friendlier, and there are a lot of pick-up trucks.
Worst states for hitching: New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts.
A few tips to make for easier hitching:
*Always make sure you're standing in a place where you are easily visible, and where it's safe and easy for someone to pull over. If drivers can't safely stop, then they simply won't.
*Try not to hitch with more than one person....very few drivers will stop for more than two people, unless you're all female.
*A guy and a girl hitching together is sometimes better than a guy by himself, so if you know you have to hitch to town, you might want to plan ahead and hitch with a friend (who may welcome this in any case, as many women hikers don't like hitching alone).
*Make sure your pack is visible to the driver.....there are lots of folks who'll stop for backpackers who otherwise wouldn't stop.
*Don't wear sun-glasses when hitching; try to make good eye contact with drivers as they approach you, and remember to smile.
*If you're going a long way, consider making a cardboard sign; if you're returning to the Trail from a long ways away, consider a sign that says (for example) "Appalachian Trail/Killington VT" or wherever....if it looks like you have a SPECIFIC destination, this makes you more appealing to some drivers, and makes you look less like a shiftess bum
*When hitching around Trail towns on your zero days, carry your backpack
with you; even an empty pack makes you look like something better than a car-less schmuck. In every locale, there are folks who'll stop for hikers but who won't stop for other folks.
*Avoid hitching after dark, and if possible, avoid it in the rain. For every driver that feels sorry for you and stops, there are three who don't want your soggy ass in their nice car.
Blue Jay
11-06-2005, 16:12
Jack's advice is excellent. The only thing I would add is not only do not wear sun glasses but also do not wear a hat. Driver's have to see your face. Also make sure that face is smiling. That works better than anything else I've tried.
As a middle aged woman, I was apprehensive about hitching. I always tried to find a friend to hitch with as Jack said. Several times I did end up hitching alone however. No problems at all hitching in spite of my uneasiness at first. Folks around the trail know about hikers and are usually glad to help.
Uncle Silly
11-06-2005, 16:56
I've heard it's illegal to hitchhike in some states (New Jersey comes to mind, and possibly Pennsylvania). I know that pedestrians/hitchhikers aren't allowed on the interstates in Virginia, as well as some other states. Anyone know which other states have decided to legislate your thumb?
Its legal everywhere-- a constitutional thing. You might have to stand off on the shoulder, or stay away from toll roads.
Jack Tarlin
11-06-2005, 17:11
Actually, it is illegal in many places; some of the laws are local ordinances, some are state statutes.
However, in many cases, the WORDING of the laws is key: Some states forbid the solicitation of rides on HIGHWAYS; the definition of highway can be debated. Many states forbid the solicitation of rides from ROADWAYS; this would seem to make the seeking of a ride from a shoulder or sidewalk OK. It's frequently a case of how the law is worded and to what degree the police wish to enforce it.
But to state that hitch-hiking is legal everywhere is simply not true; in many places, it isn't.
Legal in every state. Not legal everywhere. You might have to stand off on the shoulder, or stay away from toll roads.
Uncle Silly
11-06-2005, 17:40
good points, jack, thanks.
i can certainly see the "free speech" argument: sticking my thumb out to announce to the world that i'd like a ride certainly seems like a first-amendment right. just like ignoring me or choosing to pull over to offer me a ride is the right of any driver that sees my thumb sticking out.
dave...try the 10 min rule....i only know of 2 times i waited more than 10 mins to get a hitch...only once did i have to walk it...and even then, i got a hitch about a mile south of rt 666 in the dark...the guy who picked me up thruhiked in 99. rt 666 is about 8 miles from newport VA....a great resupply spot for me anyways.
fiddlehead
11-06-2005, 23:14
Soliciting a ride (as they call it) is illegal in Wyoming.
Actually, Maine isn't bad at all.
In Andover, cars stop regularly, and the folks who run the hostels go out several times a day to see if there are hikers that need rides. (And by accepting a ride, you're under no obligation to stay at a particular place. These folks do this because they are nice people). .
Well. Not quite. They certainly are all friendly people. The owners of the Andover hostels talk together, visit with one another, and refer hikers to competing hostels when they are full.
But two of the three are full time businesses who survive on hikers and other travelors in the area. The third is a bit more of a hobby, "nice people" operation. But all three in my observation travel many miles daily shuttling hikers and picking up hikers in hopes of at least breaking even. I suspect that if a majority of folks who are picked up for rides into town didn't end up staying at the hostel that does the picking up, the picking up might be less frequent.
Of course, this may be only cynicism speaking. It may be only a coincidence that the only people making several 20 mile round trips to the trail heads in Andover are people who have businesses where those they pick up can spend money.
Weary
Hitching in Wyoming is illegal, although it never stopped us. ;) Fortunately, there weren't that many times where it was necessary.
For the most part, at gaps, passes and trailheads, we asked first, if there was anyone around, with good results.
Actually, it is illegal in many places; some of the laws are local ordinances, some are state statutes.
However, in many cases, the WORDING of the laws is key: Some states forbid the solicitation of rides on HIGHWAYS; the definition of highway can be debated. Many states forbid the solicitation of rides from ROADWAYS; this would seem to make the seeking of a ride from a shoulder or sidewalk OK. It's frequently a case of how the law is worded and to what degree the police wish to enforce it.
But to state that hitch-hiking is legal everywhere is simply not true; in many places, it isn't.
And of course no one on White Blaze would do anything illegal, nor encourage others to do so. Well, there is one guy that some of us are suspicious of.
Uncle Silly
11-07-2005, 19:46
Well, there is one guy that some of us are suspicious of.
hey now, I resemble that remark. :rolleyes:
Jack Tarlin
11-07-2005, 20:11
Actually, Weary, you aren't merely being cynical.
You happen to be dead wrong.
I don't know how well you actually know the Andover people, but I've stayed at all of the Andover hostels over the years, and have enjoyed the hospitality of all of them. They're all great folks.
I have seen ALL of the Andover hostel proprietors happily take folks in or out of town REGARDLESS of where the hiker stayed or was planning to stay, and for you to suggest otherwise, or to imply that their interest is first and foremost financial, is pretty mean-spirited.
People whose first interest is financial generally don't go into the hiker hostel business.
Actually, Weary, you aren't merely being cynical.
You happen to be dead wrong.
I don't know how well you actually know the Andover people, but I've stayed at all of the Andover hostels over the years, and have enjoyed the hospitality of all of them. They're all great folks.
I have seen ALL of the Andover hostel proprietors happily take folks in or out of town REGARDLESS of where the hiker stayed or was planning to stay, and for you to suggest otherwise, or to imply that their interest is first and foremost financial, is pretty mean-spirited.
People whose first interest is financial generally don't go into the hiker hostel business.
Well, one is my sister. And one is my brother-in-law. But I spent several meals last month at the Cabin, hiking, eating and chatting with them and a couple of "competitors" of theirs.
I was fasinated by the verbal and body language. These people are in fact "nice people" but like most they need to earn a living, either by living cheaply like me and bjack, or working in the real world. I sensed that all the folks I ate with, chatted with and hiked with that weekend, were genuine competitors, looking in their own ways to figure out how to live in the woods they loved and still finding a way to afford doing so.
This is reality, Jack. Yeah, Jack. Like all competitors, when a ride wants to go to a competitor's hostel, all of them will comply. Only a fool -- well maybe Uncle Johnny is the exception -- will deliberately tee off a potential customer.
But unless you can explain other reasons why only those Andover people with businesses that depend on hiker dollars make a couple of 20-mile round trips a day to trail heads, I'll continue to believe that they are drumming up business.
Weary