Hitchhiking: A freely awesome way to get around!

I spent the whole last summer living in Minturn, about ten miles from my work in Vail Village, and I made it work car-less ! Hitchhiking daily is how I got around, and depending on where you live, it can be a great option for free transportation ( and a fabulous opportunity to make a new friend, acquaintance, or potential client, depending on your line of work!)

Before 2010 I had only hitchhiked once in my life: when my car ran out of gas on the way to work while living in Edwards. I was strapped for both time and cash so I walked to the nearest on ramp of I-70 and stuck my thumb out. This first experience was kindof nerve-racking! I stood outside on a snowy Colorado day, watching car after car pass by me, feeling a little more sorry for myself and my situation with every vehicle that seemingly sped up to pass me when they realized what I was up to.. It felt like I had stood there for an eternity, but about ten minutes after my now frozen thumb had made its debut appearance into the world of the hitchhiker, I got my first ride ever. Nervous about the probable serial killer/ rapist that awaited me inside the vehicle, I cautiously opened the door and and told the driver ( who was, to my surprise, a normal looking dude about the same age as I, also on his way to work) where I was trying to get to. "Oh, Vail Village? Me too! Hop in" was something like the answer I received. Success! We had a typical conversation to this part of the world: inquiring where we each work and what geographic location we resided in before finding the ski town haven that is the Vail Valley. I got dropped of to work on time, and even got a ride back to my car that afternoon ( no thumb necessary either, the girl just stopped!) when I was seen walking on the side of the road with the red badge of honor that exclaims " I don't know hot to pay attention to my gas gauge!" swinging from my hand ;)

When I traveled to Hawaii soon after, in the spring of 2010, I was a bit disappointed at first to find out how far my hostel was from the town of Pahoa (4 miles), beach (16 miles), and local farmers markets(4-20 miles). At that time I didn't realize that many of the locals didn't even own a set of wheels - not even bikes - but relied solely on hitchhiking. We hitched everywhere - multiple times a day - and I was so surprised and delighted every time someone would go out of their way to get us to where we where going safely. I learned that hitchhiking alone was the fastest way to get anywhere, although in groups we rarely split up (unless there where more than 3 people) because we where together, having fun, and it didn't necessarily matter how long it took to get somewhere. We had no where to be, really, we where on Hawaii time. The second most efficient way to hitchhike was in a group of all girls, but honestly, I don't ever remember waiting more than 30 minutes on any occasion.

Mango Road Puna, Hawaii

It was in Hawaii as a hitchhiker where I got the chance to drive down mango road, a thin winding road on which giant lush mango trees engulf you from both sides, laying in the back of a pick up truck. I got sunned on and rained on, and the experience of the road and the wind and the sky and the stars, all right there to see and more importantly, FEEL. On my face, my back, my toes, freely exchanging my breath with the living jungle around me. We got rides from locals, hippies, haolies, musicians, and sometimes even tourists.

Although not all of my hitchhiking experiences had been positive in Hawaii (the drunk Hawaiian local who picked us up with an almost-finished bottle of rum in between his thighs who later came back to the hostel with a gift and probably hopes for a late night rendevouz ) there have been several people that seem to have been sent by angels to scoop me up from the side of the road. a

I visited the Big Island again in 2012, and my six weeks spent there where relaxing, enlightening, friendship-forming, and I learned a lot about myself on many levels. I visited places I had never been to my first time around: lava fields, tide pools, ecstatic dance, all gotten to by hitchhiking ;) The day of my 9 p.m return flight home the sky was grey and a light rain was falling as I caught my first ride to the main Pahoa intersection. I had left 5 hours early to make sure I got to Hilo airport (about 30 miles away) safely and on time. I thought it might take me a while to catch a ride (or a few) getting that far, but I had not displayed my " :) Hilo Airport - Mahalo! "  sign for 5 minutes when a lady pulled over and said she would give me a ride. We got to talking, and upon finding out how much time I had until my flight, she invited me back to her home to relax before my flight.

How sweet! A cute little deer giving his monkey friend a lift !

I took the offer and was so astounded by the beauty of the property she lived on when we arrived! Her landlord had many acres of lychee trees, through which we walked, picked, and ate lychee fruit straight from the branches. It all seemed to be coming together - I had only tried lychee for the first time on this trip, and could not get enough of them! I would buy 5 lb bags at the farmer's market and they would be gone within days! It seemed only natural that this woman would be living on land that grew them in such a bounty, but what she was about to offer me was so much more magical.

She was a massage therapist, and when we entered the bungalow she put on some soothing meditative music. She began asking me about myself and I couldn't help but divulging my (very much coming up on this trip) crazy relationship to food and my body. We sat on the floor and talked for a few hours and the wisdom and words she spoke seemed like the perfect things I needed to hear at that moment. After talking with her it helped me to realize that I was exactly where I needed to be in that time of my life, and that I still had a lot of growing to do.

It was almost time for my flight, but before she dropped me off, we went to visit and feed her beautiful horses. I love horses and hope to have a few to share my future land with someday. I am a horse according to the Chinese horoscope, and growing up my Russian grandmother Tamara would always send me picture books of horses and little horse figurines. It was a very special experience to be able to commune with these majestic creatures as a final gift from Hawaii. I left the islands with one more friend and a lot of Aloha, and I have hitch hiking to thank for that.

I came back to a warm, green Vail and was re-united with my sweet puppy Shadow, and my trusty Pontiac Grand Am that had been serving me well since 2007. It was a beater for sure, but aesthetics aside it was mechanically sound and "got the job done." I drove it around for a few weeks until I didn't want to afford the towing fee + a new year of registration and insurance. So I decided to hitch hike all summer long.

There's a corner leaving Minturn that if you stand on, are a woman, and don't dress like a total crazy lunatic, you will get picked up within 5 minutes. That was my experience anyways. The days when my outfits where crazy hippie-tastic where the days where I waited maybe 7 minutes ;) The first time someone in a Mercedes stopped to pick me up (I almost didn't even stick out my thumb for that one, but I'm glad I did!) I was shocked! Lots of people said something along the lines of "Oh, I used to hitchhike when I was younger," and most people where super friendly and nice, again, many of them going out of their way to get me to work on time. Thank You! I even got picked up several times by people I knew and once by a lady that works at the Vitality Center with me!

Sure there where days when I rode my bike into town, but I was happy to have another, free, option of transportation when I didn't feel like making the 20 mile roundtrip haul.

I encourage people to hitchhike ! Be safe, have fun, and get around for free!

Here are some of my tips for hitchhiking:

-If you are new to it, and nervous, do it with a buddy until you get comfortable.
-Don't hitchhike at night if you can help it.
-My experience (in the Vail Valley) has been that the more "normal" I look and dress, the more likely people where to pick me up because they felt less threatened (they told me this).
-If you get a weird vibe from someone who stops to pick you up, you have every right to refuse the ride! If you don't feel comfortable simply telling them no, make up an excuse! Don't take a ride with someone you don't feel safe with ! (Asking where they are heading before telling them where you are going makes this easier since you can just say you are trying to get to somewhere else!)
-Hitch from an area where cars can easily and safely pull over
-Tell someone where you are going
-Use a sign
-Take multiple rides .. someone may only be able to get your half way, but if they can drop you off somewhere where you are likely to easily get picked up again, no worries!
-Pick up hitchhikers yourself! Rack up that hitching Karma :)

I know a lot of my friends and family where worried about me hitchhiking, and that the "hitchhiker culture" is different from place to place. I have even noticed that is is a lot harder to get a ride from Avon or Edwards than it was from Minturn. (About 7 miles away from each other) Hopefully this post has created some peace of mind for people that think hitchhiking is unsafe everywhere; its definitely not! Would I hitch on the South side of Chicago? Probably not unless I was in a real jam, plus there is cheaper public transportation there. Colorado? Yes. Hawaii? Yes. I look forward to many future hitchhiking adventures and a big shout-out to my friend Dan who is soon embarking on a backpacking trip across South America! May many safe hitches and new friends greet you on your travels!

Aloha!

Have fun and be safe out there !

Sofie K