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Infiltration Forums > Archived Canada: Alberta / BC > Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post... (Viewed 857 times)
frugalfinnagan 


Gender: Male




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Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
< on 2/3/2006 4:53 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
So here is my response.
There is a lot to say in terms of living strange. My mind tends to wander pretty wildly. So i will start with:
Hitchhiking is generally acceptable by even the most hard nosed cops if traffic is not being held up, or the possibility of a crash is next to non existant, so when picking a spot pick a spot that is a high traffic spot, but also visible for some degree of distance, and has a place to pull over. It is a good idea to carry some reflective tape with you regardless if you plan on being out after dark or not. It comes in light strips, and it will eventually save your ass more times than any other type of gear that you will carry. Ankle strips, vests, LED blinking lights, (but batteries wear out) and other examples of things to make you more visible exist. Having a few options is nice cause every situation requires different things. Velcro can be sewn onto the back of reflective tape. Then when you need to sleep somewhere you can take off your reflective tape and you become harder to find. Good footwear is also a must. It is not hard to find good footwear, but you must wear the footwear a bit before you take it on any hitch hiking trip. Our feet are very finicky things. The height of a thread difference in the wrong spot can cause months of pain, so consequently you need to find out what footwear will be good on your trip. I once had a pair of Doc Martens that a little bit of foot sweat caused the cardboard sole to swell or warp. I could not walk and i was 500 kilometers from home. I ended up getting a new pair of shoes but my foot was in pain for a long time. If it is cold or hot that needs to be taken into consideration as well. In some cases winter is a time to wear heavy warm footwear, but some hitchhiking places a person can get a ride lightning quick, so if you are going from somewhere that is cold to somewhere that is warm or vise versa, consider the footwear that you wear.
Freight trains:
Reading up on the safety involving freight trains is crucial. Duffy Littlejohns book hopping freight trains in america is pretty solid in terms of safety issues. It is worth it to buy this book. And photocopy the fuck out of it, and give away copies.
If you think that a freight train may offer some degree of transport you need some good footwear if you plan to walk any degree on the tracks, and if you get kicked off belive me you may walk a long way, tennis shoes are one type of shoe that many train hoppers like because of the sturdy foot bed and light weight. Footwear that is dark is generally best. Reflective tape can be covered up with hockey tape, or if none is available electrical tape will work. Tape also is useful for making signs for hitchhiking as well as a multitude of other uses like band-aids, rope, string, emergency sewing stuff,, A good windproof coat is important cause while hitch hiking the wind can get bad, and while hopping freight, the wind can get even worse. Dark colors work best, they hide the dirt better, and don't necessarilly reflect light. Carpet that is about 3 feet square can be pretty sweet for hopping freight. It works good as a pad to sit/lay on. It dulls the sharp viberations a bit,, and if it picks up the dirt from the train instead of you all the better, can be used to climb over barb wire fences. It can be cleaned by beating it against something like a train, tree, the ground, etc. A wind proof hat, coat, and pants are quite important if you plan to be hopping freight in any time but the middle of summer, and even then it gets cold on some freights. Factoring in the fact that you are on steel, there is a windchill, it may be raining, (or have rained) makes wind proof gear pretty important. The darker the better. The harder you are to see the better chance you have of getting where you need to go. Ear plugs are also important. Hearing damage is quite possible. Since ear plugs are virtually no weight, occupy no space, and are stupid cheap there is no reason to go without. If you somehow find a freight and have no ear protection, consider not hopping. The noise is deafening and can go on for what seems like forever. A tarp can be used to hide your stuff, protect you from rain, wind, snow, and in some cases there is nowhere to hide on the back of the car (and if possible always take the back of the car) but if you wrap yourself in a tarp and lie down, that can work as a good place to hide. You have to remember to look around carefully before you move when you are in plain sight. I can sleep for 8 hours without moving fast enough for a person to tell that I have moved, but it takes a while to learn that. It is crucial to bring food, water, toilet paper a few plastic bags to shit in. You don't know how long you are going to be on the train. A car ride that can take an hour could be a 8 hour train ride if you are on a junker, and in the same breath you could find an intermodal train and go 500 kilometers in just a few hours depending on where you are.
As far as what train to ride, i prefer the grainers. Grainers have a tube in each end that allows the car to be well cleaned out when the load reaches it's destination. They don't tend to move alot in the winter, but in the fall they are moving pretty good. It is close to impossible to see into that tube.
http://www.spikesy...rains/hoboing.html

http://www.northbankfred.com/sarah.html

http://www.catchingout.com/nytimes.html

http://www.slackaction.com/hopping.htm

http://www.webspaw...ighthop/index.html

http://user.aol.co...unk7331/page1.html

http://newdeal.feri.org/ron/n86info.htm

I think the most important thing to learn with train is the safety rules. So i have to send you back to Duffy Littlejohn, Hopping freight trains in America.

Dumpster diving is a way a person can feed themself for the cost of getting to whatever dumpster. Food banks tend to throw out the biggest volumes, next are supermarkets, produce stores, and then grocery stores. I suggest a good pair of footwear, a flashlight, gloves and some type of bag to carry stuff in. To locate places to dumpster look in the phone book. If you have a bicycle or transit access it would be a good thing to learn before you need to do it.
Now the finer points. Thrift stores thow out alot of house wares, clothing, and things that are nice for everyday living. Like wind proof clothing, tarps, backpacks, solid footwear, gloves, backpacks, flashlights. Often the bin will be overflowing with plastic bags that have been used to transport stuff to the store. I find it important to stuff those plastic bags into a few plastic bags, and the same with the cardboard. Throw the bags of plastic on the side of the bin, as well as the paper. If possible the card board can be recycled later. The bags that are full of stuff, gently grope the bags. Often people throw their residential trash into the bins. Throw these bags on the side of the bin as well. It makes no sense to tear into that stuff. It is more often than not actually garbage. But if you feel something that could be of intrest, UNTIE the knot and look to find out what is inside. Things that you want can be thrown to the front of the bin. When you first start dumpstering you will likely want to take the whole bin home. I think it is important to have some type of goal or schedual of things that you want to aquire. A grocery list. Certianly. It is entirely possible to flood the living space with stuff that is good quality stuff, that you may want in the forseeable future, but the thing is if you can get it now you have a high probablity of being able to get it when you need it. So have some idea of the stuff you want to take. If a store sells a product, they also throw it out at times. Steel toes... who seels them? Look in the yellow pages. Even when a store policy is to slash the clothing boots backpacks they cant's sell it is quite easy to sew that product so that it can be used... ever see me wearing dark blue Hammill construction pants? they have been patched with a stich that looks much like the way most people lace up their shoes. I LOVE these things. They are amazingly durable. I even know of a few instances where someone who likes alcohol gets their supply out of dumpsters. The white pages are great for locating stores. Even if a product costs alot to buy it is still possible to get it out of a bin. Residental dumpsters are very lucritive at the end of the month due to people moving, eveictions, and christmas and birthdays are good for the same reasons. This email needs to end. It is getting long. This spell check stopped working half way through. Sorry for the errors.
More info? hvir3 at yahoo.ca

j0lt 


location:
Kobe, Japan
Gender: Male




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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 1 on 2/4/2006 10:42 AM >
Posted on Forum:
 
Um... What?

j0lt: Larger than life and twice as ugly!
frugalfinnagan 


Gender: Male




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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 2 on 2/7/2006 12:14 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Could you be a bit more specific jOLT?

followthewhiterabbit 


location:
Lower Main land
Gender: Male




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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 3 on 2/7/2006 1:41 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Frugal did you write this post on a wireless laptop connected to a hot spot that you found in a bin, near one of your bins?

I think although potentially useful one day if life totally hits rock bottom its a little difficult for most of us to know what your talking about. the grain trains with the tubes do you have a pic? what are you talking about there. something about hiding but its not all that clear.

It seems you've just been looking with your eyes closed.
Jester 


location:
Vancouver,B.C. Canada
Gender: Male


Always just out of sight...

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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 4 on 2/7/2006 3:26 PM >
Posted on Forum:
 
It's like reading an english like rambling, that was run through an online translator a few times...

It requires wisdom to understand wisdom: the music is nothing if the audience is deaf.
0U812 


location:
Lubbock, TX
Gender: Female


Texploration

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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 5 on 2/7/2006 4:03 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I think this guy must have hit his head one too many times while dumpster diving.

I figured out what's wrong with life:
It's other people.
shellyl 


location:
Lenoir NC
Gender: Female


I have learned not sweat the petty things and not to pet the sweaty things.

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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 6 on 2/7/2006 5:09 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I’ll admit that your post was a bit hard on the eyes and a little hard to follow at first but I liked it none the less.

Given the current station in my life traveling about the countryside as you do is not practical for me. However in my younger days I spent a lot of time hitch hiking and backpacking. I had a great time and met many interesting people along the way.

Most people who are not familiar with UE or just don’t like the idea think we have a strange way of spending our time. You my friend just have strange ways of getting to the same places the rest of us do.

I would like to hear about how you got to your next site. My last train ride to an exploration was on an Amtrak. Can’t say I would enjoy a grain train. I snore real loud, I would get caught. The bathrooms on an Amtrak leave a bit to be desired but taking care of business in a plastic bag is not for me.


A mirage is not an optical illusion. It is a real phenomenon, and one can take photographs of it. The interpretation of the image, however, is up to the fantasy of the human mind.

j0lt 


location:
Kobe, Japan
Gender: Male




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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 7 on 2/8/2006 3:37 AM >
Posted on Forum:
 
Posted by frugalfinnagan
Could you be a bit more specific jOLT?


Ummm... How 'bout the whole damn thing?!

j0lt: Larger than life and twice as ugly!
Pickwick 


location:
Calgary, Alberta
Gender: Male




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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 8 on 3/2/2006 5:07 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I thought it was a good post. Hopefully I'll never have to do the same, but all information can have a purpose at some point.

Tanuki 


location:
Victoria, BC




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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 9 on 3/7/2006 8:09 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I personally wouldn't bother with the train hopping. Unless you're just doing it for the experience, which is cool, but if your goal is to simply get somewhere hitchhiking is so much faster. And you get to meet way more people.

I think the comments about gear are pretty good. One thing that I think is essential that frugalfinnagan never mentioned is a biv sack. If anyone doesn't know what these are, a biv sack is kind of like a one man tent but with no poles, just a waterproof (usually gortex) shell for your sleeping bag. A good biv sack costs about $200 new, and $100 from an army surplus store. Which is a lot more expensive than a tarp (especially if you get them free from a lumber yard), but it's well worth the money. It means that you can lay down and go to sleep whereever you are and be dry and unseen. And there is no set-up or take-down time. I've spent way over 1000 nights in mine, which makes it less than 10 cents a night, a pretty cheap hotel room. I never go anywhere without it.

I'm also not one for carpets. I've spent too much time sleeping where it was actually really damn cold, and I tried carpets, and froze my ass off. I use high density closed cell foam, you probably actually have to buy it so it's a bit more expensive, but again worth the money. I also use that tin foil + air bubble stuff they use for insulation around hot water heaters. It is very light and pretty good insulation, if used alone or in combination with the foam.

I also think that one can't praise wool enough. Especially if you are traveling, it is really hard to dry things out, and wool retains it's insulative value even when wet. And it's tough. A wool blanket is incredible useful.

And for those of you with no dumpster diving experience, listen to that guy! You can get anything from dumpsters. There is so much perfectly good food and other useful items that are thrown out each day. Usually the stuff they toss out isn't even past the expiration date, they just toss it because it will be expired before the next inventory (maybe a week later). And if a label falls off a can, or the package is somehow damaged, or if there are fewer than 3 bananas in the bundle, into the trash... You never need to buy groceries again.

OK, I'll quit rambling now.

Yehoshua 


location:
Ontario
Gender: Male




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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 10 on 3/7/2006 8:24 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
At some point in the next few years, I resolve to hop a freight train with no idea where it's headed.

Our Citizen.
Our Justice.
Bring Omar Khadr back to Canada.
nobody 


location:
VANCOUVER B.C.
Gender: Male


5:55 is a state of mind

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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 11 on 3/7/2006 3:48 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Yeah, there is something about that thought isn't there. N.

Operating Entirely With Bad Intentions
frugalfinnagan 


Gender: Male




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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 12 on 3/9/2006 2:21 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
If you want something like a bivy sack but can't afford to buy one you can make one out of a plastic insulation bag. Cut the top, and save it. Cut one half circle near the feet, and one near the head, tape a bit of plastic over the area that you have cut to act as a roof. If you do not cut holes you will soak yourself from your sweat and breath condensation. The top of the bag can be used as a lid if you expect snow

Curious_George 


location:
Cambridge
Gender: Male


Straight outta New Bedlam

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Re: Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post...
<Reply # 13 on 3/9/2006 5:08 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
If you want a good belt, rip a plastic shopping market bag in half and thread it through the belt loops.

Infiltration Forums > Archived Canada: Alberta / BC > Someone was asking about living strange but I can't find the post... (Viewed 857 times)

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