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Bart Fay
Social climber
Redlands, CA
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Coming home from Owens, just past that familiar turn off where the 395 curves east & I14 heads
on to L.A., Just past the old Gulf service station with the velvet elvis posters, there was
a barefoot, late 30s bar fly, in a short, black cotton dress looking like she'd just been
dumped out of a car.
Looked like trouible to us. Kept on crusing.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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I used to hitch-hike regularly from Vancouver to Squamish, before I was old enough to drive. Some interesting adventures, though in the 1970s, on that road, with a rope conspicuously displayed, it wasn't usually too bad.
Mt. Slesse is south of the Chilliwack River, on a ridge between two tributaries, Nesakwatch and Slesse Creeks. To do the northeast buttress, you hike 10+ km up Nesakwatch Creek, on old logging roads. (Sometimes they're driveable.) Then do the climb, and come down the other side. Then you hike out. Unless you have two cars, you get to the Chilliwack River road at a point about 10 km from where you left the car, possibly more. So you hitchhike back.
The catch is, there are several minimum security "facilities" in the valley, and the usual signs warning about hitchhikers. The time I did it, they were hunting for an escapee. But I got a ride anyway.
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Ricardo Carlos
Trad climber
Off center, CO.
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Leroy
Post up
First hand would be so much better than third hand around the campfire.
Second thought maybe not!
I do not think the husband – wife one was much different last time I heard it 20++ years after first hearing you tell it.
Almost as good as the Yosemite Basement one , but than was not hitch-hiking
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Mark Rodell
Trad climber
Bangkok
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Spring 71, first extended trip to the Valley, I'm sixteen. I'd gotten up some grade threes, a big deal, pushed into 5.9 too, wow, so stayed an extra day and my ride cut out without me, had to hitch to the Bay. Sunday afternoon, Camp 4 Chevron and after ten minutes hanging my thumb a red VW bus comes, sliding door slides. It's Royal and Liz. Modesto? Sure, anywhere west of here, sure.
He'd been up on El Cap solo, trying duct tape out for aid and other stuff. Kindly, they asked of my exploits and we gassed about the Pinns and eleswhere. Think they fed me. And in Modesto, as the bus pulled away, I knew to stop listening to others jawing about others, mean, things I'd heard about 'em, didn't jive with those hours. A darn good ride.
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Eastside
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Never hitched to go climbing, but I did post a notice in A16 once for a ride to JT for climbing. Ended up marrying the guy.
Living in Boulder in the mid 80's, I drove an old beater 67 Malibu. Picked up a scruffy looking dude one day with an English accent who stunk to high heaven. HE rolled down his window as soon as he got in. Turned out to be Derrick Hersey. He took me on a cruise of the Red Garden Wall. Fun day.
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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I don't generally hitchhike unless some big snafu has made me need to.
Hitchhiking story # 1...lost keys somewhere at Trashcan Rock...presumably into a climb. See two 20-something chinese girls stop for a look at the pile before exiting the park and ask them for a ride out so I can send an SOS to the rental car company. The tell me where keys are hidded in the car, and I spend hours sitting on the wood pile in front of the Circle K waiting for the lone taxi in Yucca Valley for my return trip. Hitchhiking on the 29 Palms highways after midnight seemed like a bad idea.
Hitchhiking story #2...J was doing a semi-alpine start to climb El Cap. As I wasn't part of that adventure, I slept in the back of the truck as he tooled around doing various errands. He made a pit stop at the lodge and I jumped out to grab some coffees.
When I got back to the truck, it was gone.
Wearing pink jammies and carrying a hot cup of coffee in each hand, I jogged over to the road to try to hitch a ride. Luckily a woman up early to take pictures picked me up. She seemed unmoved by the weirdness of a hitchhiker in PJ's. She probably thought I was flagging her down rather than hitchhiking and then couldn't think of a good reason to say 'no' after I asked for the ride.
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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That's hilarious, Malissa(the pink pj's story).
I always wondered if rental cars had keys hidden somewhere. Guess that makes sense - but it surprises me more rentals don't get stolen then. Are the keys usually accessible from outside?
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Mark R's story reminds me of another one. There's a seaside cliff in a Vancouver suburb, that's called Lighthouse Park. Lovely seaside toproping and bouldering. I was there once in the second or third year I was climbing (about 1973), with a friend. It was slow learning in those days, we didn't have a lot of gear, and I was 15 (?). Anyway, these two older guys show up and do some fast good climbing, give us some tips. They offer us a ride back into town in their VW bus.
It was Hugh Burton and Steve Sutton, in the middle of their amazing run of El Capitan and other climbs.
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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I used to hitch out to Yosemite from Minnesota in the early 80's.
Couple of times I caught Freight Trains west to Portland or Seattle
-Out of Alta Utah i get a good ride in a Semi-Trucker is a Viet Nam Vet and he needs to talk. So all night long he unwinds terrible stories of 18 year old killers dropping V.C. out of Helicopters, making them walk through mine fields. Heavy sh#t for a midwestern boy and heavier for him. When he dropped me off i said "Welcome Home"
From Reno to DesMoines all in the back of pick up truck- a long time to be bouncing
Out of the valley I get picked up by Tim Hebert? in a VW Bus
My wife and i finish backpacking the West Coast Trail Vanouver Island B.C. and we do this epic eight hour hitch from Bamfield to get back to Port Renfrew on logging roads no less- Canadians are the best- A really civilized country-if you have not done the West Coast trail you need to go do it now!
Coming south from Reno through L. Tahoe I get a ride from a high school kid- He drops me off near this housing development. I go into the woods to crash and about a half hour later he shows up with his pals to rip me off. But I'm in the woods and they were too lazy to get out of their car to come searching- I just stayed rabbit quiet and was gone early early the next morning
Going east through Tonopah I get dead headed BAD- 9 hours.Just watching the locals cruise Main on a Saturday night.
I crash in a vacant lot and the high school kids flash their brights on me and shout "goodnight"
No chance going east soi try to make it back to Lee Vining.Next morning an old groover gives me a ride about 40 miles out of town West-drops me at a crossroads Whorehouse. No traffic but one car every half hour. I can still hear the tire hiss as they burn by at 70. Mid afternoon the same guy comes cruising out to check up on me and ends up giving me a ride to Lee Vining- like about 180 miles out of his way. I have picked up a lot of people since then and if I can I give them some cash or food if they need it because I really appreciated that guy bailing my ass out that time.
Too bad our country is so uptight and we can't trust each other for rides. We've all got a story worth telling
murf
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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This is From Tom Waits: NightHawks at the diner
I just happened to be back on the east coast a few years back
I was trying to make me a buck like everybody else
I was glad if times didn't get hard, Christ I got down on my luck
And I got tired of just roamin' and bummin' around
So I started thumbing my way back to my old hometown
You know I made quite a few miles in the first couple of days
You know I figured I'd be home in a week if my luck held out this way
You know it was the third night I got stranded
It was out at a cold lonely crossroads as the rain came pouring down
Man I was a hungry, I was a hungry, tired,freezing, caught myself a chill
It was just about that time...
It was just about that time that the lights of an old semi topped the hill
you should of seen me smile when I heard them air brakes come on
yeah and I climbed up in that cab where I knew it'd be warm
At the wheel, well at the wheel sat a big man
I'd have to say he must of weighed 210
As he stuck out a big hand and he said with a grin
"Big Joe's the name and this here rig's called Phantom 309"
Well I asked him why he called his rig such a name
But he just turned to me and said
"Why son don't you know this here rig'll be puttin' 'em all to shame
Why there ain't a driver, no there ain't a diver on this
Or any other line for that matter that's seen nothing
But the taillights of Big Joe and Phantom 309"
So we rode and we talked the better part of the night
And I told my stories and Joe told his
And I smoked up all his Viceroys as we rolled along
Pushed her ahead with 10 forward gears
Man that dashboard was lit like the old Madam La Rue pinball
A serious semi truck
Until almost mysteriously
Well it was the lights of a truck stop that rolled into sight
Joe turned to me and said
"I'm sorry son but I'm afraid this is just as far as you go
You see, you see I kinda gotta be makin' a turn just up the road a piece"
But I'll be damned if he didn't throw me a dime as he threw her in low
And said "Go on in there son, and get yourself a hot cup of coffee on Big Joe"
I mean to tell you man, when Joe and his rig pulled off into the night
Man in nothing flat they was clean outa sight
So I walked into the stop and ordered me up a cup of mud saying
"Big Joe's settin' this dude up" but
It got so deathly quiet in that place
Yeah got so deathy quiet in that place you could of heard a pin drop
And as the waiter's face turned kinda pale
I said "What's the matter did I say somethin' wrong?"
I kinda said with a half way grin
He said "No son, you see It'll kinda happen every now and then
Cause every driver in here knows Big Joe son
But let me tell you what happened just ten years ago
Yeah it was ten years ago out there at that cold lonely crossroads
There was a whole bus load of kids and they were just comin' from school
And they were right in the middle when Joe topped the hill
And could have been slaughtered except Joe turned his wheels
And he jacknifed, yeah, he jacknifed and he went into a skid
You know folks around here, well say he gave his life to save that bunch of kids
And out there at that cold lonely crossroads
Well they say it was the end of the line for Big Joe and Phantom 309
But it's funny you know cause, cause every now and then
Yeah every now and then, when the moon's holdin' water
Well they say old Joe will stop and give you a ride
It seems just like you, some hitchhiker will be coming by"
"So here son," he said to me
"You get yourself another cup of coffee, it's on the house
I kinda want you to hang on to that dime
Yeah I kinda want you hang on to that dime as a kind of souvenir
I want you to keep that dime as a souvenir of Big Joe
Of Big Joe and Phantom, Big Joe and Phantom 309"
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Leroy
climber
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Dec 11, 2007 - 10:11am PT
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Best line I heard hitching wasMy wife likes to F... other guys and I like to watch.Just ateaser.Buy my book.
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Dec 12, 2007 - 04:11pm PT
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I'd buy your book, but I hope you've got an editor. ;-)
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TwistedCrank
climber
Ideeho
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Dec 12, 2007 - 04:18pm PT
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In 1982 a funny thing happened to me hitch-hiking from Gunnison to the Valley. I got a ride.
Freaky, man.
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brat
climber
The Portal
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Dec 12, 2007 - 04:26pm PT
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I picked up a book in a book exchange once, about an English guy hitching around Ireland with a refrigerator.
I believe the book was called "Round Ireland With a Fridge."
Mildly amusing...
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Dec 12, 2007 - 04:49pm PT
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Karl with a K is a classic. Used to see him buying loads of gear at the Sport Chalet in La Canada back in the 80's. Then saw him at a Starbucks in Malibu about 7 years ago.
I hitched from Coloma to the Valley a few times. Nothing too memorable except one dude who was high as a kite and was weaving all over the road. If you have ever seen the movie Fandango there is a scene where Judd Nelsons character goes skydiving. Judd Nelson is terrified to jump so the pilot says why "hey man, it's no big deal. You want me to jump first so you can see how easy it is?" Judd looks at him and says, "if you jump who's gonna land the plane?" That is kinda how I felt on that ride to the Valley.
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Ricardo Cabeza
climber
Meyers,CA
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Dec 12, 2007 - 06:12pm PT
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My first hitching experience was when I was 19, leaving New Hampshire for Colorado to live somewhere new. On a whim, I sold the old Volvo 240 and bought a train ticket to Denver with maybe a grand in my pocket. Get to Denver and take the RTD to Boulder getting my pocket picked in the process, where I checked into the hostel. After about a day in Boulder, I got antsy to decide where I would move to, and a little paranoid, some good herbs to be found there. I walk out of town and stick out my thumb. No sooner had I done this than a pickup stops and picks me up. I’m thinking, ‘sweet my first hitch, this is gonna be easy.’ Wrong. The guy who picked me up, Peter Korba (somehow I still remember the name) tells me how dangerous hitching in the front range can be and offers me a job building on the spot. I declined but will never forget the kindness. From Nederland I headed to RMNP hoping to hitch through the park and then continue to Steamboat for the winter. Wrong, the pass had closed the week before for the season. Back to Boulder. Returning to Boulder I got picked up by a woman who had just returned from Nepal and was selling crystals out of her car. We ended up getting a little too stoney and visiting some sort of convent (I think, I was pretty irie at this point) to try and sell crystals. No crystals having been sold, we head to boulder and I return to the hostel. Next day, I heed Peters advice and go greyhound to Silverthorne and begin hitching again. Two uneventful rides despite near misses with deer get me to Steamboat at 2am.
Two months later, I decide to partake in some halucenogenic substances and hitch to Denver for a Phish show that I do not have tickets for. I get there pretty easily with some girls from Summit county who were going too and manage to find tickets(free no less) must’ve been the utterly confused look in my eyes. After the show I make a sign reading ‘Steamboat or Freeze’ since it was in the single digits. Well the 2 girls must have had a hell of a time convincing their boyfriends, but I got a ride in the back of a station wagon all the way home, being asked by the guy driving if I was hitting on his girlfriend and if I wanted my ass kicked. I wasn’t, and I didn’t.
Fast forward 3 years. I’m living in Tahoe City and decide with a weeks notice to go with a girl I had never met to Alaska for 2 and a half weeks. We weren’t old enough to rent a car, so we decide to hitch. Heading from Anchorage to Homer, we had some nice rides but the one that sticks out in my mind was Pyro Paul. Pyro Paul was a self styled nickname that later proved to be spot on. Paul picked us up with a beer in hand and a few empties on the floor and proceeded to tell us that he really shouldn’t be driving, as his license was revoked for taking a moose out of season, in the middle of town! Anyhow, personal indiscressions aside, Pyro turned out to be a great guy and a great tour guide. He insisted on taking a side trip to a town whose name I now forget, just because it was the westernmost road in Alaska. From there we went straight to the salty dog saloon in Homer, because we JUST HAD to experience it he said. Then it was on to the the brewery for growlers and finally on to the campground where he was staying and we JUST HAD to stay there. A week later, we peeled ourselves away from the wonderful raspberry farm/commune that had become our home and left for Talkeetna having made dozens of new friends.
Heading back up the Kenai, we got a lift from a girl who lived in, of all places, Talkeetna! However, she had to do some things in Anchorage for a couple of days, but we were welcome to stay with her at her friends house and then get a ride and stay with her in Talkeetna. How on earth could we say no? Two days of bar crawls later we left for Talkeetna. After a mid ride sushi stop we arrived at her house/1 room shack and found out that she worked at the west rib, and we could eat there for free if we wanted. Well, yeah. We ended up staying for the better part of a week, hiking, drinking beer, and partying all night on the river while the northern lights faintly danced above.
This isn’t saying that hitching is easy, or all the folks who pick you up are normal, far from it. I can remember swatting mosquitos for two, three hours at a time waiting for a ride and asking to be let off in the middle of nowhere because the driver was too drunk, sketchy.
Long winded I know, and I didn't climb much in AK, but there are some surreal experiences to be had on the road.
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Ricardo Carlos
Trad climber
Off center, CO.
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Dec 12, 2007 - 09:17pm PT
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Todd
I am pretty sure that blond picked me up hitching in Tahoe 78.
Maine to San Diego, the most asked question was why don'tcha get a job so you can buy a car. Did my Datsun pickup and VW van count I would counter. I am doing this because I can!
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john hansen
climber
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Dec 12, 2007 - 09:42pm PT
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I heard a story about a guy who hitchhiked from Lone Pine to Reno with one of those little tear drop camping trailers.
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Ricardo Cabeza
climber
Meyers,CA
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Dec 14, 2007 - 08:50pm PT
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Just got two great rides today, first one was first car all the way to kirkwood, then going home third car all the way home. Gotta love tahoe folks! It really sucks having a broken truck. I'm thinking about getting a subie despite all the recent head gasket slander. My last one went for many miles with nary a problem. Preventative maintenance, people!
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