Hello,
I live in europe and never hitch hiked in the US.
Is it legal to hitch in California?
i’ve read some bad experiences of guys waiting 4 hours before to get a ride!!!
If it’s difficult for an american , what will be for a “poor” french guy?
I’ll be on the PCT in july and i’m a little “scared” about hitch hiking.
Thanks for your help
cyrille
hey frenchy,
I walked in 02 and never had a problem getting into town. I do remember hearing something about it being illegal, but no one ever had it enforced upon them as far as I know.
You will have some hitches that get up to 50 miles one way, but from the pass to town there’s nothing. what I mean is each car coming over the pass they either live in a private residence along the way or are on their way to the closes town, no matter how far that town is from the trail.
You will have no trouble hitching, and don’t be scared to get to a town way off trail you’ll get used to it while your out there.
ps yogi’s book will have more info on this topic
Goof
From my experience walking most of California last year I wouldn’t say that “you will have no trouble hitching”. Sometimes it will be easier than other times. Being French won’t effect your ability to get a ride but if you are a male hiking alone without any females that can be a factor. You will go through areas where people will instantly recognize you as a PCT hiker and will be happy to pick you up. You will also go through spots where most of the traffic is clueless tourists who know nothing of the PCT and all they see is a dirty, ragged looking guy who came out of the wilderness. I hiked late in the season, way behind everybody else, so maybe that is another factor.
One spot that sticks out in my mind is Sonora pass. I stood there sticking my thumb out in both directions for several hours. There was tons of traffic but people avoided even looking at me. If I had known there was a trailhead parking lot just over the hill I would have gone there and tried to engage some other hikers in conversation in order to get a ride. Finally I ran into a backpacker and former AT thru hiker who offered to give me a ride and then better yet gave me some of the extra hiking food he had in his car, which was the only reason I wanted to get to town in the first place - to get a bit of extra food to get me through the next section.
Talking to other hikers and backpackers in parking lots is a really good way to get rides and is often much easier than sticking your thumb out or holding a sign. If you feel uncomfortable about going up and asking directly if you can get a ride from someone you can try acting a bit clueless at first and ask for directions. Like, “Excuse me, if I walk down this road which highway will it take me out to?” etc. That leads into explaining that you are trying to get to town for resupply. If you are talking to a person who is any sort of outdoor enthusiast and they find out you are a PCT hiker, you pretty much have a ride at that point.
As far as the law goes, in California at least, as long as you aren’t trying to hitch on the freeway you should be fine. I know of one hiker who even got a ride from a police officer and there was no problems.
aaron111
thanks a lot for your answers, i feel a little better now, except to see the difference between a Freeway, highway or interstate
:eek:
I guess hitch hiking is a part of the PCT adventure!
I’ll be at walker Pass late july…
thanks
cyrille
Back in the “old” days I used to hitch everywhere, including California (Tahoe City to San Jose.) Make a sign with your destination on paper or cardboard. It works better for the driver to know where you’re heading.
OD
i’ll get a bandana with "hiker to town "& “hiker to trail” on the other side, i hope it’ll help;)
cyrille
I did the trail in '82 and what I remember is the only people that picked up me and my buddy were usually pretty drunk.
It was quite stimulating after averaging 2.5 miles an hour for the previous 1 or 2 weeks.
Don Henrikson