Hitchhiking?

[brian]

I have never hitch hiked in the States, but hitch hiking in rural Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer was one of the highlights of my life. You could probably hitch hike across the continent pretty easily.

[sshawnn]

I hitchhiked recently on a kayak trip. The put in point was about 5 miles from the take out point on the road. The actual kayak trip was between 7 and 8 miles long. I agreed to the four person group to jog back to the put in point after the trip to get the vehicle. I started running and just randomly thought that I would stick my thumb out as the first car passed. No luck. Maybe three more pass, increasing their speed as they pass. Soon a truck pulls up next to me with a smiling driver. He is a non English speaking fellow that likely worked on one of the nearby farms. I knew enough Spanish to let him know what was going on and he got a good laugh out of my story for our two or three mile trip. When I returned to the others they couldn't believe their eyes! "Did you sprint the whole way?" kinda banter. I waited a while before I told them what happened. Good stuff.
the put in was at the creek crossing at Peaks Mill Road and take out was at "A". Elkhorn creek near Frankfort, Ky
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[EMJ]

I pick up all hitchhikers. It's been my policy for years. I am a woman who usually drives alone with a large but very friendly dog.

No one has ever been unpleasant and I've met some interesting people.
The line between having a vehicle and being on the side of the road is finer than we want to think about.

[Aquatter]

I grew up and live in Europe, and when I travel, hitchhiking is my main means of long-distance transportation. It's free, you have interesting interactions with people of all walks of life (and this is coming from an über-introvert), you learn how to be patient and how to improvise, among other things.

I've also hitchhiked about 3000 miles in the U.S. (Midwest, West) in 2011 and while it's a little different out there (you have to pay more attention to what's legal and what's not, people are more suspicious and you get fewer rides), don't let that crap you've been fed by the media, pop-culture and the government (http://tinyurl.com/aupjnt5) scare you away. It's totally doable and people are very kind.

A few interesting links:

http://hitchwiki.org/en/Main_Page (tips for beginners, guides to cities and countries etc.)
http://www.autostopemwswiat.pl/main_eng.html (a couple who made it around the world by thumb, including hitching yachts and planes)

[Spartan_Warrior]

Hm, I must have missed this thread. I did some hitchhiking around the U.S. (east coast to west coast) circa 2006. Aquatter is more or less correct: people are suspicious and you'll watch a thousand cars pass before anyone stops, but I also incurred zero expenses (aside from food and occasional motel stays) and met a lot of interesting people. Also met some assholes, but what else is new?

Enlightening (but far from surprising) to learn that the government at least partly instigated the smear campaign against hitchhiking, causing a lot of the stigma that lingers today.