I spent almost 2 years Hitch-Hiking throughout the United States with no money, no phone, and no ID. I slept outside and ate for free. No contact w/ friends/family, no couch surfing, AMA.

Did you get laid, and how often?

Yes I did, enough for me.

Did you use condoms or just the ole' pull out method?

Condoms except one. Then always condoms.

How did you get to Hawaii?? edit: Woah sorry! Was on mobile and didn't notice.

I swam.

jk, I picked up an odd job and bought a ticket. I lived there for about three months.

(not technically part of the two year hitching tour)

Triple the comments, triple the karma.

Yup this guy totally cares about the karma

Not sure about you, but that's why I go on two-year hitch-hikes.

Shit! Shut up! Don't ruin this for me! This is all I have left!

How'd you eat for free?

Many methods, my personal favorite was just asking restaurants if they had any mistake orders or other throw-away food. You'd be surprised how many folks would be happy to give you a meal if they like what you're doing.

Sorry, this really leaves a lot of the story out. What would you tell them to get the food? Would they ask you questions? Did you just spill your life story to them? Or I guess... what is it that you were doing?

Something like "Hi there, my name is X (had nicknames) I'm hitch-hiking across the United States with no money, food or connections, do you have any leftover food that you're going to throw away that I can just have? Or, if not, do you have any work I could do for a meal? Thank you!"

What's the scariest thing you've encountered on your trip?

There were a few scary things, so I'll just say the one that comes to mind. A man picked me up and pretty soon I realized he was crazy. He soon explained that he was on the run from the police in Washington and that if he saw the police he may "roll over into the ditch. If that happens we both jump fence and run like Hell!" He then explained that he was going to hide the car and "hide in plain site" in Arcata, CA, where I was going. While in the city I repeatedly saw him homeless in town square screaming scream-o music at the top of his lungs with a blanket wrapped around himself. He kept giving me these looks like "you know who I am..."

Why did you cut off contact with family and friends?

Long story short, my parents are extremely religious and abusive. My friends were mostly made through the church and my atheism didn't sit well. I decided to start over and make friends (and a family) based on mutual values. Lot more there, let me know if you're more curious.

Have you talked to them since?

No, I cut ties with them.

"I decided to start over and make friends (and a family)"...

1) Not being smart here: do you mean you met your wife during the 2 years on the streets?

2) What are the "mutual values" you speak of

Thanks for the post!

1. No, but afterwards I met the woman I'm hoping to give that title to. :D

2. First, of course, non-aggression. Then courage in the face of difficulties, reason, desire for happiness, honesty and the like.

Thanks for the good questions!

I'm currently writing a book about the disappearance of Maura Murray. I feel she decided to walk away from her life 10 years ago and may be living off the grid. Did you ever run into other people out there who managed to pull this off for that long?

I ran into MANY. There's probably millions here in the states. They have communities, the have their own jokes, they have their own cultural references. It's weird to see.

Can you tell me more? How does that culture work?

First google Rainbow Gathering (and image search too) you'll get a lot of good info that way. There's temporary cities being built all over the country in National Forests and even all around the planet. People travel by foot or vehicle from place to place, living outside. It's a big big heavy topic, if you have any particular questions I'd be happy to go into it, I'm just not great at general questions. :)

You know too much, we must downvote you into oblivion and set a pack of wild coyotes upon you!

Noooo! Not agaaaaiiiiin!

[deleted]

The most challenging aspect was honestly building back up afterwards. It took several months of asking friends for help, working my ass off, and being scared I would fall.

Sounds kinda strange that you would be afraid to fall after traveling with no support network for two years. Anyhow, do you miss the traveling times, or do you consider stable situation as being better? These are not mutually exclusive of course.

Fear never goes away, you just get better at taking it out on dates.

You mentioned you had a sleeping bag. How much equipment did you normally have on you day to day?

For a lot of the time I literally just had a sleeping bag and a small pouch of notes from people I met. Sometimes though, I carried a jacket, books, a notebook, I had two short periods where I had a tent, etc. Also! Throughout the adventure I was given a total of 5 guitars!

What was the biggest drumcircle you were in?

I prefer drum squares.

How did you handle personal hygiene?

I didn't.

Just kidding, when people invited me to their homes, I showered and washed my clothes. On other times I washed my face/arms/chest in public restrooms. At truck stops, truckers usually get loads of free showers for buying so much damn gas, so I would just ask to use one of their showers. Plus swimming. :)

Oh! And public beach showers!

Most interesting story of your experience?

Hard to answer, but here's a random one: I was walking through a city called Stuart in Florida heading towards the beach. I passed a guitar store and asked how much their cheapest guitars were, they said $60. I had $20ish. I went to Subway and got a 5 dollar footlong for dinner and went to the beach and slept. I woke up the next morning, swam, and an older man walked past and asked me about the jellyfish that had washed up on shore. Eventually we started talking about my travels and he gave me $5 and said "this is all I have on my person but if you meet my wife and I at the last blue umbrella there, we'd be happy to give you some more." I did and we talked about what I was doing, and they gave me an additional $40. I bought that guitar and became friends with the owner (the bassist in the pic above.)

Did you make it south to my hometown of Jupiter, Florida? I was born in Stuart.

I passed through! God it was beautiful!

stuart is dope!!!!!!!!

Tis.

Where is the most awkward place you had to poop?

suspiciously darts eyes around... ...in... ...a gas station bathroom...

Did your family ever try to find you, or did they write you off as dead?

They have tried to contact me a couple times now, I've asked them to stop.

What's your relation with your family like? Edit: as the geniuses below me pointed out, I'm interested in a description rather than a good/bad dichotomy. Obviously not as is well, so I'm wondering what specifically made you leave.

I have Defoo'd (de-family of origin) I attempted for years to build a relationship with them until I realized it was never going to happen. They have tried to contact me since, I will be taking legal action if they persist. We're all born into some crazy shit and I just want to shoutout to anyone in an abusive parent-child relationship: YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENTS IS VOLUNTARY AND YOU'RE BETTER OFF WITHOUT THEM.

Are you a hobo because that would be cheating.

No hobo.

did you spend money on anything?

I did, I had a couple odd jobs here and there (5% or so of my time) and I was given money on a few occasions. But for the most part, no.

How did you get work with no id? What kind of work and how'd you find it? Very interesting, thanks in advance!

I literally just asked people. A couple people just asked me. One time I came into a town and decided I wanted to make a little money, I went to a car repair shop and asked the owner if he had any work. He had a lot. He simply didn't care about ID and I was payed under the table. Good ol' tax-free cashola!

Sorry, NSA.

Reddit comments ≠ sworn testimony. Immunity granted! Signed, your pals at the NSA. P.S.: take it easy on the Brazilian fart pørn.

Don't tell me what to do, paternal projection of my dad!

Did you ever feel like you would not survive the elements?

Rainy nights are the worst, but I was always pretty crafty. The worst I ever got was layering up big time and getting pretty wet.

[deleted]

Do It!

When you're in the car with someone who knows they'll never see you again, they tend to open up a lot more than they normally would. I've had so many of those conversations that I would say I now have a clearer understanding of peoples dreams and fears. I feel fairly normal, but I do feel like I'm part of this very secret club no one knows exists if that makes sense.

How did you go back to the working world after all was said and done? Being unemployed for 2 years couldnt be to appetizing on a resume.

Spin. With my current job, I just said I was traveling and freelancing. But with other jobs I just told them, they thought it was awesome.

At what age did you start? How did you find places to sleep everyday? Have you got robbed or something?

I started at age 20. Okay, so when I would start getting tired/the sun started to set/I just felt like finding the spot I would look for areas that were woodsy, unowned (or owned but no fences, no buildings and not maintained) and away from passerby. I was never robbed. Ever.

Total little kid question, how did you deal with the Mosquitos?

He murdered them. Every. Single. One.

I mean that, yeah.

Oh! Mosquitos sucked! Keep yourself covered, man. Keep yourself covered.

who the fuck would rob a hitchhiker? he's got what 5 bucks?

a hitchhiker without 5 bucks

I just imagined two hitchhikers repeatedly snatching $5 back and forth between them forever.

It's a deep philosophical problem

Please tell me you ran into Dean Moriarty and Sal along the way

(if you didn't read this book ill be honest to god sad)

Dean and Sal are dead, man, they'e gone off into that wild call blossom of a road up beyond Denver and New York and everything beautiful in this world. They ran screaming into the dreary abyss of the night sky where the old man waves behind himself and America, America standing there without pants on, waiting for what good ol' Dean would say next.

What were your favorite and least favorite states/cities, and why?

From the AMA:

Here's a short list of some of my favorite places in no particular order (can't pick one...)

1. Big Sur, CA for the beauty
2. Austin, TX for the hope for humanity
3. New Orleans for the Insanity
4. New Paltz, NY for the friendliness
5. Green River, UT for the surreality
6. Stuart, FL for the play
7. San Francisco for the innovation
8. Honolulu for the swimming
9. Arcata, CA for the woods
10. Boulder, CO for the climbing

The worst place was Stockton, CA. It seemed like it was more crackheads than regular people and it scared the shit out of me...

What was so surreal about Green River, UT?

First, the scenery was so strange to me, the empty desert with mesas in the distance. But the main reason was I was staying with the only Christian in town (Mormons) and he was crazy! He claimed that he made a promise to god to work there if he could diverce his wife without feeling guilty! He also claimed that the mormons were trying to kill him...

How did you get to Hawaii?

SWAM.

No, actually I got an odd job and bought a ticket.

Please describe a day. Awake to asleep.

Wake up, think, write sleep in, whatever comes to mind. If I'm near a restaurant, I'd go in and ask of they had any extra food or work I could do in exchange for food. Eat breakfast. Walk towards my destination or start to hitchhike. Continue doing so, taking breaks to look at scenery, talk to people, read, write, etc. If I was in a city then instead of traveling play music, write, etc.

Did you ever feel unsafe? Did you ever get hassled by the cops? How did you transition back to "regular" life afterward?

There were a couple times when I felt unsafe, but not extremely, not to the point where I really thought something serious would happen. I got a couple tickets for trespassing (sleeping outside), I once had my bag searched and lots of suspicious questions. The transition involved me heading to San Francisco where I had a friend, he let me stay at his place for a week, I snagged a job, then worked odd jobs through TaskRabbit. A friend in Wisconsin offered a place to stay for free, I worked on web design there. I met my girlfriend, we moved from here home in Minneapolis to Austin, TX. We're now working jobs and trying to get our income all online so we can travel long term. :D

What gave you the inspiration to begin the journey, and was having no money an intentional choice?

I watched a movie called "Hump Day" where one of the main characters is a long term traveler. I thought "I wanna do that" and the next day I gave my two weeks notice. When I first ran out of money I didn't plan it in advance, but then I kept myself down for a while for fun.

I have trouble grasping your mindset, but it's fascinating. Off the top of your head, what are the top 3 things you learned about yourself that surprised you on your travels.

I sometimes have difficulty grasping my own mindset so I completely understand. Here we go:

1. That I'm incredibly patient.
2. That I can have a LOT of fun without much stuff.
3. That I have an incredible skill for enjoying the little things.

What was the simplest thing you missed the most?

i find that to be a difficult thing to answer. When I started getting out of it, I rediscovered the internet and fel back in love with it, but I didn't really "miss" it. I was happy to be taking a break and enjoye the benefits of doing so. So I dunno.

Toughest times? What got you through them?

Honestly the toughest times were consistently the times where I had difficulty finding good places to sleep. The very practical thing I did to get through them was to sleep more whenever I had the opportunity. :)

Any specific memories of Stockton or what part of it you were staying in? I lived there for 3 months before moving away and couldn't go 5 minutes without seeing a crackhead or gang members walking past me. The 209 is fucking nuts.

I was only there one day, it was just frightening. Really run-down, really cracked out. Not a place I would want to live. I ended up asking a friend to buy me a bus ticket out of town and got the Hhheeellllll out of dodge. Of course I would up in Modesto which seemed nice at first...

What did you do for accommodation?

I'd say 75% of the time I slept outside, other times I slept in awesome peoples homes and occasionally not-so-awesome peoples homes.

When you slept outside, how did you pick where you'd sleep for the night? Did you try to "stealth camp" or did you not care if you were seen?

Depended, some times I just darted in when noone was looking. Other times it really didn't seem to matter. I tried to find spots that were woodsy and unowned. Or if owned, without fences and unmaintained.

Give us a story about the not-so awesome people maybe? :D

Here's one from the /r/AMA thread:

I was walking towards the desert in Blythe, California getting ready to find a spot to camp, when a drunk man in a poncho comes up to me and says his name is Running Bear. He offers me vodka and says I can stay in his shanty. He points to the arco gas station and says "You see that gas station? I built that with my own two handssss, man!" He took me to his uncle's property where his shanty was and showed me his uncle's barn, which was full of giant tires and explains "Don't sleep in there, the black widows will eat you alive!" he then shows me his uncles giant fiberglass tubs. "Don't sleep in there! That shit will cut you up!" He explained that he and his girlfriend, a "skinny white bitch with biiig fake titties" would cook a rotisserie chicken for dinner. The chicken was raw and sitting out in the open air outside on a table. There were peppers and lemons near it. He explained that I could sleep in his shanty and I did, but I woke up not too long later to hear him and his girlfriend arguing, ending with him pouring gasoline all over her. That was very scary and sad, I didn't know what to do so I just left.

What was the worst experience on your travels?

I have a real difficult time with worsts/bests, so here a sucky one: I got stuck in the rain without a tarp or tent. Slep under the tallest try I could find in my sleeping bag. Woke up wet.

Well. How did you do it?

Any specific wanna-knows? I'm terrible with generalities.

Upon reading the title, you seem like the Christopher McCandless type inspired upon moral literature such as Thoreau or motivational fiction like On the Road or Darma Bums... would you say you fit this stereotype? Why or why not? What inspired this adventure? Was it difficult? Sorry for the barrage of questions but I have always wanted to do that.

No worries, I'd say half and half more leaning towards Chris than Jack, not much into drugs and I don't worship assholes (sorry Dean). To me I figured I'm only going to live one time and what a great way to start out adulthood by living with next to nothing for a long period of time! I wanted to build a life that was exciting and adventurous and I had certainly not been taught how. I wanted to learn how to live an awesome life. By my standards, I've succeeded. We all ought to.

Why no Couchsurfing?

I figured it would take away a lot of sponteneity. I wanted to not know at all where I was going to sleep that night most of the time.

Did you start off with no phone, ID, or money? ...Or did you fall asleep somewhere in public and it all got taken?

Neither? I started off with all that stuff and slowly but surely got rid of it all.

how is that working out for you?

Surprisingly well!

What is your goal, is something I dont get?

My goal now? To get my income completely online so I can continue to travel but in a... nicer way. ;)

Why?

Because.

Wise words.

Thank You.

Who was the most interesting person you met?

There's many, so here's one random one: http://www.pianoaroundtheworld.com/