hitch hiking in SNP
going to section hike the snp in 3 sections and wondered if hitching along skyland drive was: easy/medium/hard/fine-able infraction/going to land me in jail...
Lazarus
meant skyline drive, sorry!
Lazarus
Re "going to jail," I recall someone on WB - perhaps Hog on Ice - came up with the Park regulation that actually sanctions hitching as long as it's in connection with a dayhike. But I couldn't find it on the Park website nor could I find a prohibition against it.
I've hitched within SNP on Skyline Dr. for over 20 years and never had a problem except for weekdays in winter when no one's out driving. But "culture-wise," hitching is quite feasible. When I maintained a section in SNP, I'd walk the section and often hitch back to the car. All of my AT section-hiking within SNP was in the form of base-camping and day-hiking cum hitching. Never a problem.
I've had no problem with catching hitches inside SNP boundaries and have done so on a few occasions. I'm not aware of park regulations regarding sanctions or what not but last summer I got hitch from the SNP road crew cruising the Skyline Drive looking for "ponding " and rockslides after hours of heavy rain .
Getting lost is a way to find yourself.
Thumbin' a Skyline Drive
Easily done and I've never been questioned. When doing trailwork alone, I prefer not to backtrack, so I'll put in a day on the AT, pop out at a convenient place and hitch back to my car.
If you think you'll look funny with a backpack and that "wild hiker" look, forget it. I stand on the side of the Drive holding an axe or some other tool and never have to wait long for a ride.
Ditto everything you said and experienced. When I weedwacked in the late Spring, I prominently displayed my orange hard hat while hitching. Never had to wait long.Originally Posted by ATsawyer
it is not permitted and their are signs at the start and finnish. no one gets bothered ever. and its semi easy to hitch. but to show respect i coose spots with long veiws where i can put my thum down and walk rather than hitch in front of rangers. but...at dusk and in rain the rangers give me rides every time. but again, when i get in a cops car, i act like i havent been hitching but rather started just then cause the light is fadeing and i get a ride to the next trail crossing nearest a camp spot or shelter.i like to walk the whole road, both the parkway and the drive. it has way better veiws and free sodas at each camper and i can walk till sunset, witch is glorius on the roads lookouts as we all know,..and then hitch to a trail crossing and walk a mile or two to camp! thats how the matthewski does it. all the personel in the park are as professional and curtius as anyone ever. they have to be. they represent the best of the usa to the worlds tourests.
matthewski
u cant hitch on the parkway/ skyline drive but a few fellow hikers got rides from parkway workers. personaly i dnt think they are goin to inforce that on people with packs near the trail i think they have a good idea wht your hitchn for.
after blood mountain, appelorchard mountain is on of my special most places on earth. i think god keeps a weekend house there.
matthewski
perfect. the thumb it is. thanks to all.
Lazarus
for sure thumb it, if somethn comes up be like im not from here and play dumb to our laws u be alright. they realy gonna arrest a hiker for not knowing a hitch hiking law in a state they dont live in.
but doc my friend , if i may,......the cops there dont get lied to. they are fully aware af the truth and that single attempt at fibing wont get you the friendly rides i get from cops each dusk, cause they stay the latest, you will still get a ride, but all the fun of rideing in a cop car goes out of it when its done on less than honest terms. you tell a park ranger you dont know hitchin laws but your walkin to maine and hes gonna clam up and just drop you off at your trailhead. tell him you want a ride and dont bring up laws and hes gonna shoot the crap with ya. and youll hear about some freaks there allways arestin exsposin they selves an sit.
matthewski
cops in boutetourt suck man im just sayn idnt thnk someone from outside va is gonna get a ticket for hitchn, lien to cops never realy works. but they dont listen to the truth here when u tell em it anyways thats why i had my car torn apart 100 yards away from my house and when he didnt find anythng he left me there with my seats out on the road and all my belongings next my car, rangers are a whole nother breed of law enforcement tht arenot worried about hikers at least here.
My hubby tried to hitch in the southern section without success. But it was also a rainy day. Might try asking at overlooks.
alot of tourist on that road thnk your are a park attraction or wild animal and are more interested in taking your picture than giveing you a ride.
exactly ," do see",..(doc)
matthewski
...and I lived to tell the tale, which is:
try to hitch in the SNP when there are likely to be people driving by! I had planned to hitch 60 or so miles on a monday morning, then figured out that no one would be driving through the park then, especially with rain forcasted-- so I hitched on Saturday (sunny day!) and it was as easy could be. One of several rides was with a park ranger. sure enough, when i finished my hike in the rain monday morning (yesterday...) there wasn't a soul in sight and i would have been so out of luck if my car wasn't there. Frankly, it was so easy to hitch that I think next time I wouldn't bring any food at all, and just hitch to Skyland and back whenever I got hungry... and I'm almost serious about that!
Lazarus
Good news and to me at least, not surprising.
I just looked up Apple Orchard Mt. on SummitPost- I'm adding that to my "to visit/hike" places in the near(ish) area
Unless they changed the regulation since 2003, hitchhiking is permitted in SNP. I know this because I was picked up by a ranger while hitching in 2003. I thought I was busted. He gave me a ride and told me hitching was permitted in SNP but not on the BRP south of the Park.
Yahtzee
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