Hitchin' the Valley

How hitchhiking became part of the Gunnison Valley culture

            Imagine standing on the side of the road waiting for a ride: a car pulls up, a stranger’s car. You have no idea who this person is, or even if they are really going where you need to be.

You step into this possible serial killer’s vehicle, ignoring the Hollywood idea of murdered hitchhikers found on the side of the road. It takes a lot of trust in humanity to hitch a ride.

How to Get Picked Up: The Art of Hitchhiking

           When a driver sees a hitchhiker on the side of the road, they typically have about three or four seconds to make a judgment about that person.

           As the hitchhiker, it is critical that you make the absolute most out of this small amount of time.

A Warm Heart in Cold Weather

            When we hear stories in the media about hitchhiking, more often than not it is a story about violence, robbery or sexual assault. Hitchhiking has become associated with distrustful people that pry on the ignorance of unsuspecting civilians trying to lend a helping hand.

            But occasionally a story comes through that shows the decency of mankind.  A story that rewards the trusting nature of some and shows that human kind is not as dark and cynical as today’s society would have us believe.

            This is one of those stories.

Adventure of the Greenhorn Hitchhiker

     I woke up at 6 AM to a sunless, snowy morning. Not exactly the start to the day I was hoping for but I got up and began preparing for my day. The goal was to hitchhike 400 miles to Denver and back. By the time I was set to go the sun was starting to push through the clouds.
     Maybe today was going to be ok.

Adventure of the Greenhorn Hitchhiker, part 2

     The night after my hitchhike to Denver I dreamed about flying across the country in the passenger seat of my friend's airplane, which I'm sure stemmed from my day on the road. Then my friend tried to do a backflip in his airplane and we crashed.

     I'm not sure what that was supposed to mean.