Stevie D is going to backpack across the US (plz dispense pro-tips here)

Been thinkin baout this long and hard, and I think I am actually going to do this this summer, except that I have never done anything like this before really and need all the advice I can get. Basically, my goal is to fly out to Seattle/Portland or somewhere close (Vancouver?) and do one of two things :

- make my way from Sea/PDX > SF/Bay Area > LA > Tucson > Austin > Houston > Nola and then somehow back to NJ (probably something like Knoxville > Raleigh/Durham > DC > Bmore), all within about 45 days.

- make my way from Sea/PDX > SF/Bay Area > LA > Tucson and then maybe Austin > Houston > Nola, and then fly back to Philly from one of the last 4, all within about 30 days

I basically have no plans or destinations and mostly just want to explore and meander around all these cities I keep hearing about but have never seen. Also, it wd be rly cool to kiw a bunch of you! Basically what I am asking is like how to do this as cheaply as possible, as I only have abt $2-3000 with which to do all of this. Pro-tips I need are:

• How to couch surf safely/dependably (I want to spend as little $$$ on lodging as possible)
• How to get from city to city as cheaply as possible, which includes

• What to do in these cities bcz I have no idea (awesome places to eat/drink/see/experience)

Plz help a Stevie plan!

stay out of the south

At least, stay safe. An LA meetup would be good fun.

Also I have no idea if it's even remotely possible to do this for 45 days with only $2-3k

If a woman named Large Marge picks you up, don't get in!

what ned said!

Food, beer, karaoke, hitchhiking. Or something like that.

jealous

_Also I have no idea if it's even remotely possible to do this for 45 days with only $2-3k_

Holy crap, yes, especially if you'll be hitching and couchsurfing. I've done it on way less and for way longer.

Ok yes plz plz tell me more. How/what did you eat? Also: how to hitchhike exactly?

I mean also I need to fly out there

Stevie, this is a great guide on hitching: http://www.stiffarmingsociety.com/hitchhiking/

Also, think about train-hopping, if you think you'd be up for something a bit more dangerous, but infinitely more fun and interesting.

In terms of food, dumpsters and churches are good sources. also spanging and flying signs.

Finally, I will cook you a delicious vegan feast when you are in the Bay Area. and then we can go dancing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_6TBTP-EJI

from that site:

In the modern world where, generally, we don't get our hands cut off for stealing and where faceless corporations run the world stealing has again become practicable and reasonable.

lol

How to hitchhike: stand at hwy entrance ramp and extend thumb. It helps to have a sign stating your desired destination (so bring a sharpie--discarded cardboard is everywhere). You'll probably be picked up by a lot of truckers and therefore spend some time in truck stops. These can be good places to find rides. It can take a really long time to get picked up sometimes. Pack lightly. Carry the smallest bag you can manage and don't put it in the trunk. Try not to look too sketchy. Don't talk about sex, politics or religion. As much as I may not want to believe it sometimes, people are generally good and won't try to fuck with you...but trust your gut.

Flying to the west coast is pretty cheap into a big airport like SEA. Flying into YVR (Vancouver) will usually run you at least $100-$200 more for a one-way ticket.

When I did most of my traveling, it was before the internet was A Big Thing, so I primarily relied on an extended network of friends, acquaintances and penpals. If you don't have that, try couchsurfing.org. Bring a sleeping bag. Cook or clean the bathroom for your hosts.

You'll probably eat like crap when you're you're actually on the road. Pack food and water for the long stretches with no rides.

Rather than thinking of your budget in terms of "$2000 for 45 days", break it down by day. Think of it as $45/day. If you're not paying for lodging or transportation, that's a lot of money for food and fun.

o hai, c. thomas howell

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/1686/hitcher2.jpg

my name is Stevie D(eux)

(thanx for the ride)

I should be traversing SF-LA-LB around July 2-17, fyi (no backpack tho)

Come to Chicago!

Stevie, though that 'hobo knife' thing made me laugh really hard, it actually would behoove you to check your bag when you fly so you can pack a Leatherman or other multi-tool. you'll definitely need it.

oh also there's this, which i had forgotten about until recently: http://hitchwiki.org/en/Main_Page

If a woman named Large Marge picks you up, don't get in!

― reggaeton for the painfully alone (polyphonic), Thursday, April 21, 2011 3:11 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

^^^ u+k

wld host the shit out of a Stevie

Yeah Stevie if u need to crash in Sacramento, I'm your gal...queen-size aerobed with yr name on it :)

No offense to tabes here, and here is me waving my giant HI I ARE A SQUARE flag....maybe don't train hop?

Would love to host a Stevie!

I would be most afraid of getting crushed between cars.

train hopping just makes me think of:

http://s3.sidereel.com/episodes/17811/featured/55721.jpg

(so you know, go to Wilmington and visit a screen door factory, I dunno)

If you ever stay in a hostel, always take the top bunk.

I'd be very aware of the temperature disparity between the pacific northwest and Austin-Houston-NOLA. That said, I recommend skipping Texas and saving it for another trip. It's too big, too spread out.

trainhopping is fun and all, but only if you have the time and no itinerary. It's not like freight trains have sign telling you where they're going or a cord to pull when you want to get off.

Do you hop on freight trains when they're, you know, moving 30 miles an hour?

and I would have thought rail companies would be wise train-hoppers by now? its not like there's open freight cars anymore, yr basically teetering between cars, I would think?

I mean, unless the looming possibilty of limb loss really does it for you, it seems like a non-starter

can't believe 'table' is really suggesting dumpster diving and spanging in this context, smh

spanging not so much but I mean I am down w/ dumpster diving in certain contexts, hadn't completely ruled it out

Also after reading the then vs. now's of boxcar hopping it seems maybe not totally for me.

what's spanging?

Finally, I will cook you a delicious vegan feast when you are in the Bay Area. and then we can go dancing..walking.

x2 here!!

what's spanging?
Combo of spashing and banging?

spanging = asking for spare change

yeah I mean bacpacking around the country is one thing but putting yourself in that position seems dicey to me..again, old mama square talking here lol but a Stevie should not give over to being completely vulnerable unless desperate.

riding trains is dangerous, but hey, i did it from Chicago to Seattle when i was 16, and have ridden some more since then. it's really just about getting into a good grainer. also, tons and tons of trainyard operators and security are lax as hell. like, in Portland, they just don't fucking care, for example.

to each their own, obviously. and VegemiteGrrl, you ain't a square just because you're not into the hobo thing.

otm there about portland yards and west coast in general. i know a lot of folks that have travelled ca/or/wa safely and without incident. kinda want to check on that vollman book on hopping that he was doing excerpts from when i saw him read a while back

I did it when I was a kid, too. The summer after I took a big trip, an acquaintance lost both her legs in an accident.
But yeah, it's not really the best mode of transport for a trip like this.

I used to work in an ad agency where the (very wealthy) senior partner would take off for weeks in the summer to ride the rails and go to the hobo convention.

hobo convention

pack a knife.

If you somehow make it to Denver, I will let you sleep on my couch.

xpost - Yes, hobo convention!

http://www.hobo.com/hobofaq.htm

Sometimes I wish I weren't a woman so I could do this. I know it'd probably be fine, but I've been programed since I was a young kid to believe THERE ARE PEOPLE AROUND EVERY CORNER WHO WANT TO RAPE/HARM/ETC me.

applies to online too

hobo convention seems kinda...weird

like how would actual hoboes even know about it

like having a junkie convention, lol

faux-bos

like how would actual hoboes even know about it

Telephones made of tin cans and really long pieces of string?

and those weird codes they write on fenceposts and trees

i just picture a hobo convention full of business execs, trainspotters and kerouac/johnny cash romantics who go home to actual homes afterwards

also: possibly a v smelly convention

I would not train-hop while Borgnine is still alive.

http://dorenahistoricalsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Emperor2.jpg

lol Morbs

Here's the hobo convention. My former boss is featured in this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvphjCd0CeY

Sorry, Stevie, for derailing (ha!) your thread...

the real hobo convention is probably somewhere near Weed, CA. big hobo encampments up there. great place to catch out, too.

homosexual ii, it's totally possible for females to do this type of thing. in fact, i'd venture that most of the traveling people i know are female-bodied. or gay.

or both!

Well I mean my goal is less "go wherever with no plan or timeline" and more "get from pt A to pt B inexpensively but reliably"

whatever you do please don't eat out of the trash

set a baseline for yourself is all i'm saying -- food is pretty fucking cheap

even in your most desperate you could go to a gas station & get soup, a massive bag of pretzels & a water for like 4 dollars

well, for one: southwest airlines has one-way flights from SF to LA (or vv) for i think $79 + taxes - dunno about bus prices, but also that is a 1.5hr flight

My current goal is finding a decent backpack for all of this. Right now I'm considering Chrome's Metropolis bag; I've already got (and adore) the slightly-smaller Citizen and have been wanting something bigger for a while anyway, so this would be perfect not only on the trip but also in life once I returned home.

My only worry is that it's an across-the-shoulder messenger bag. It does have a stabilizing strap that hooks under my left arm, which gives it a more "backpacky" feel, but is this going to totally fuck up my back walking around with it for two months? What other quality comfortable waterproof large-capacity backpacks wd one recommend?

http://www.baileyworks.com/professional/two-strap-work-pack/options/

pro-tip: if you get either a messenger bag or a backpack made by a messenger bag manufacturer, get a liner or stuff bag like e.g. http://www.nomadtravel.co.uk/catalog/view/exped-xxlarge-fold-clip-dry-bag. this is useful to stop stuff falling out if you end up having to check luggage.

i got by for a month on the road w/ the size smaller, the larger citizen pack http://www.baileyworks.com/professional/citizen-pack/options/

shit, I forgot abt BaileyWorks! I have always wanted them, except $$$ :(

yep :(

i mean mine has turned out to be "worth it" to me, but they are expensive.

stay out of the south

― The Everybody Buys 1000 Aerosmith Albums A Month Club (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, April 20, 2011 12:12 PM (5 days ago) Bookmark

WTF?

Stevie, if I'm in town when you're here, and you don't mind a highly carnivorous household + bad cats, you've got a place to stay in Seattle.

Jaq is actually a bear.

Mountain lion. A bear wouldn't have bad cats.

Hah, even a mountain lion would not suffer these bad cats to persist as they do. These days though, the guest room does have a door and its own electric shock mat to keep them from pounding on it in the wee hours.

We are not vegan in so so many ways....

But Stevie, you would be truly most welcome in our house.

No no, I love frisky kitties!!! Also, I have backslided to 'tarianism and wd be most happy to cook a delicious and hearty meal for any of my hosts on this trip

Just bought a one-way ticket to Seattle for July 11 this morning for $200. this is actually happening, this is real life. I am excited beyond words.

I wonder when I should inform my overbearing mother?

congrats on real life, stevie

From the Tarmac. The one in Seattle. Xp

haha otm

just tell her you're moving across the country to cohab with a dude you met on the internet, then just when she's about to have that coronary tell her SIKE just gonna do some traveling instead!!, then you two can laugh and laugh about it and she'll send you on your merry way with a kiss on the forehead and a bag of trail mix

Seriously though, tell her as late as you can possibly can. You're not going to be under her thumb after this trip, so you won't have to worry about as bad of retaliation.

Updates:

I might be volunteering at What the Heck Fest! Very excited. Also, if anyone has a couch they want to let me me sleep on in Anacortes, WA...

I have done lots of planning for destinations, and I am esp. excited about Las Vegas and all of its tacky glitz

I think I have decided to bring a total of--including what I will leave wearing--4 shirts, 2 shorts, 1 jean, lots of socks and undies, 1 pair of sneakers (with 1 pair of SuperFeet insoles), 1 pair of sandals. I am thinking either Chaco sandals (which look awesome and are all arch-supportive and whatnot but are $95) or those Teva Mush flip-flops (which I hear are also good for walking around in, and are also $24, so I will probably get these). Though if anyone else can recommend some simple strappy non-lolneoprene "hiking sandals" that look like this I am all ears:
http://hiltonstentcity.com/images-prod/chaco-z2-ms-bargain-lg.jpg

Still haven't told Mom. Planning on letting her know 2-4 weeks before I leave

Still need tips on cheap eating. Anyone who's been on tour have anything to contrib?