[pct-l] RE: pct-l Digest, Vol 6, Issue 25

[kdpo at pacbell.net (Ken Powers)]

Good ideas. An addition to #2:
Don't try to hitch at the crest of a long hill. We waited for 45 minutes
trying to get a ride at MacDonald Pass on the CDT. We were positioned where
drivers would see us just before they crested the pass. A bike rider came
along and explained that we should move down the hill slightly away from the
crest of the hill. He said that the drivers were still concerned about
climbing the long hill. We started moving down the hill in the direction we
wanted to travel. We immediately got a ride. Coincidence?
Ken
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Smith" <ronyon@comcast.net>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 11:33 AM
Subject: [pct-l] RE: pct-l Digest, Vol 6, Issue 25


> Those are good suggestions below for hitchhiking. Here are some
> additional:
> 1. Provide lots of visible evidence that you are a backpacker, as most
> people like backpackers. If you have trekking poles, display them in
> your hands. Wear shorts as opposed to long pants, if they aren't too
> dirty. Most people don't envisage serial killers as wearing shorts or as
> having tan, muscular legs.
> 2. Position yourself where cars will have ample opportunity to first
> evaluate you then safely stop. If you are on a highway, this is
> especially important.
> 3. No sunglasses is a plus, as someone else pointed out. This allows you
> to establish eye contact with the driver and engender trust.
> 4. Making a sign helps, if you have cardboard and a marker. State that
> you are a PCT hiker and where you are going.
> 5. If you are female, ignore the above, since you won't have any trouble
> getting a ride. Your job becomes determining who to accept rides with,
> which is a separate topic.
>
> Ron, Serial section hiker and hitchhiker
>
> > Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 15:42:30 -0700
> > From: "Bob Bankhead" <wandering_bob@comcast.net>
> > Subject: Re: [pct-l] re: hitching
> > Having been both a hitcher and a hitchee, let me suggest that BEFORE
> you
> > try
> > to hitch you:
> > 1. Bathe (if possible) or at least wash the visible parts of your body
> so
> > you don't look like the dirty bum you are.
> > 2. Comb or brush your hair
> > 3. Put on your cleanest dirty clothes.
> > 4. Brush your teeth to kill the bad breath from too many tuna pouches
> > When I'm traveling with my family, I'm not interested in picking up
> > someone
> > who looks like the next I-5 serial killer.
> > ...
> > Wandering Bob
>
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