View Full Version : American Hobo - the movie
hambone5126
10-19-2011, 00:15
so tonight i was browsing through netflix and the movie title American Hobo stuck out, and i put it on. the movie was about dudes and chicks that ride the rails on trains, not run of the mill hobo homeless people. i was watching and everyone interviewed was talking about the freedom and self reliance that goes along with hopping a ride, and i knew how they felt, because im the same way with backpacking.
what it go me thinking was how many other activities are out there that have this same kind of feeling of freedom and whatnot that train hopping and hiking share? also, anyone tried it?
I had an old buddy who use to work railroad security in the 90's and he use to confront a lot of the real and faux hobo's riding the boxcars. He claimed he could always spot the fake hobo. How? They always wore a watch.
Sailing_Faith
10-19-2011, 11:05
.... what it go me thinking was how many other activities are out there that have this same kind of feeling of freedom and whatnot that train hopping and hiking share? also, anyone tried it?
Why yes, I have tried it. Sailing a small boat is a wonderfully free way of life. If you approach it from a minimalist point of view you can cruise for a very long time on almost no money... mostly what it takes is a comittment to leave your old ways behind (much like hiking)....
... Some who cruise on small boats will try to take all the trappings of western life. They get caught up in going from marina to marina... and are in a constant search for parts and fuel. A small sailboat can be run on little fuel and anchored for free...
Seeing the world at the speed of a riding lawn mower.. is a wonderful way to travel. You carry all you need in your 'little space ship' and go on your own schedule.
I spent 9 months doing it, and hope to spend more time doing it again soon. Here is a link to my travels (http://sailfar.net/forum/index.php/topic,72.0.html), it is on a site devoted to sailing small and going now....
There are common misconceptions about sailing (it is expensive, it is difficult)... I teach people to sail regularly and can help pretty much anyone to learn to make a sailboat 'go' in one session on the water. Like a lot of things, you get better as you go... but the basics are pretty simple. A quick scan of Craig's list or Ebay will turn up a dozen boats capable of coastal cruising for less then $3,0000....
trainhopper
10-19-2011, 11:15
I just started hopping freights this past year and it is unreal. It has the romantic side to it but is also very grueling. We caught our first train in my hometown on the fly and it was much harder then we thought it would be. However, once we got on it was amazing. We rode the train all night to Binghamton, NY and got to watch the sun come up over the Delaware river. We then tried to catch a train out of the Binghamton yard for a day until we got caught by Homeland security. Luckily he just gave took our info and told us to get lost. From all the research I did before and after the trip, it is much harder in the Northeast than anywhere else and has been a completely different game after 9/11. Still it seems out west is much more laid back even today. If you want to watch some more video on this I would check out these user names on youtube. Hoboshoestring, wisehop, and widerstand.
hambone5126
10-19-2011, 21:15
i gues laving home with next to nothing, whether its on foot, train or boat all carries the same feeling. thats pretty sweet.
one of the things they mentioned in the movie ws how hard it was to hop a train in the east, especially the north east. i guess we're all too uptight around here.