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double cabin 
Group: Members
Posts: 15442
Joined: Nov. 2005
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Posted on: Jan. 29 2013, 12:47 pm |
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http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=9489
We have discussed this topic before with Travis sharing the greatest substance. This will be great for folks coming off the CDT in the Dubois area where I am ashamed to say some hikers have been hassled for no other reason than they could be.
Its always been my understanding these laws were unConstitutional and ultimately uneneforceable. Good people will not have to consider that for themselves any more.
While the State's position on wolves continues to discourage a few tourists its good to see Wyoming rembrace Freedom on this occasion and allow for travel budgets it had ignored before. I'll still shuttle some folks in the parks and on the East side of the Divide if they're more adventurous; but I'd like to remind folks even an ugly broad shouldered guy like me that at times looked like a heavier Ted kaczynski got rides very easily when he was actively backpacking the parks in the mid 2000s.
So KC, you can leave that man skirt in Dee Troyt and get on the open road, although that Red hair just might stop the Brigham Young Bikini Team on your way to the Climbers Ranch and ensure you get back to Wolverineland under Hurricane conditions if you're not careful.
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We have nothing to fear but an industry of fear...and man skirts.
http://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=129511480442251
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TravisNWood
W Y O M I N G
Group: Members
Posts: 14895
Joined: Apr. 2006
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Posted on: Jan. 29 2013, 2:49 pm |
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Yeah, this does seem to be good for many recreation groups, including backpackers, rafters, skiiers, and so on — and for other travelers in the state. A point to remember is that this applies to the state in general. Cities and towns could conceivably still resort to the former prohibitions against hitchhiking.
I think many states have made it illegal to stand on a "roadway" to solicit a ride. If "roadway" is interpreted to mean the paved portion of a highway, a hitchhiker has easy recourse. Simply stay off the pavement to solicit the ride. That seems to me to be a good idea when you think of it. Simply stay out of the traffic.
The problem seems to be with Wyoming's Law as it currently reads (§31-5-606) and with its broad interpretation of "highway" to include even areas beyond the pavement itself. So despite the fact that "highway" is not clearly defined in the title, it has been interpreted as including the "roadway" itself and perhaps the entire right-of-way within which the roadway is situated — that is, fence to fence, so to speak. The law as it now reads: (a) No person shall be on a highway for the purpose of soliciting a ride, employment, business or contributions from the occupant of any vehicle. This subsection does not apply to persons attempting to obtain assistance for disabled vehicles. The bill in the Wyoming Senate (Senate File 29) would remove all reference from the law about soliciting a ride (from "highway," "roadway," whatever). So, if passed, the revised statute would read (with highlighting above removed):(a) No person shall be on a highway for the purpose of soliciting employment, business or contributions from the occupant of any vehicle. It may be that the law, as it now reads, has not been strictly enforced. Only a very small percentage of hitchhikers have been ticketed. But far more, including recreation groups, have found the law troubling because it leaves them open to law-enforcement contact they would prefer to avoid. This bill, it seems, would remove some troubling doubt about what the law actually allows them to do.
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Location — Wyoming
Webpages — Cloud Peak Wilderness Maps — Rocky Mountain Wildlife
Photos — Bighorn Mountains — Wyoming Steppes
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Reminiscence
Group: Members
Posts: 3532
Joined: Sep. 2007
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Posted on: Jan. 29 2013, 7:51 pm |
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I've been hassled for hitching in WY. I never got a ticket, and had to walk some miles down the road and "secretively" solicit rides, but I'm glad to see any misdemeanor association it had has been removed.
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When you are out West
Please, at my behest
Since you are Nature's guest
Do something to help the rest:
Dismantle a fire ring;
Take a stone and give a swing.
You may find that it will bring
A lift of goodness 'neath your wing.
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| Post Number: 4
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buddero
Group: Members
Posts: 777
Joined: Jan. 2009
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Posted on: Jan. 29 2013, 8:03 pm |
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I hitched all over TX, CO, WY, UT, and NM some years ago. I didn't know people still did it, except to/from trailheads and the like.
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Reach out your hand, if your cup be empty
If your cup is full, may it be again
Journal and links to refugees, backpacking, travel in Asia, photos, honky-tonk angels, other beautiful things...
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| Post Number: 5
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buddero
Group: Members
Posts: 777
Joined: Jan. 2009
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Posted on: Jan. 29 2013, 8:03 pm |
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So good I thought I'd say it again.
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Reach out your hand, if your cup be empty
If your cup is full, may it be again
Journal and links to refugees, backpacking, travel in Asia, photos, honky-tonk angels, other beautiful things...
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Ginseng
Group: Guests
Posts: 48
Joined: Jan. 2013
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Posted on: Jan. 30 2013, 10:21 am |
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I am 52 and hitched like many comenting here (Buddero) in the late 70's early 80's, I wonder if we ever crossed paths? Anyway, many folks < 45 just cant believe people use to do it. I often hear this " Weren't you afraid of being picked up by a psycho and killed?"
Maybe it was my youth, I like to think it was the times, but it seems that people were not so...I dont know...mean back then, the late 70's were the end of the 'hippie' era, I was never scared, I was worried a few times about rednecks , but otherwise, loved it! Met some very nice people.
One time stands out for me, in 1979 I graduated HS and hitched to my sisters in Merced Cal. from Elk Creek Missouri, on every on ramp along US44, heck, 20-40 people would be lined up hitching, it was a real trip.
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Walking since 1962
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JimInMD
Group: Members
Posts: 3112
Joined: Feb. 2011
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Posted on: Jan. 30 2013, 10:26 am |
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hitchhiking seems to be something from a different place and genration than I belong to. I'm 35 and other than a few months in the mid-90's, I've lived my whole life on the East Coast. I'd no sooner hitchhike or pick one up than try to fly to the moon by flapping my arms.
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Checking out for a while, find me on FB.
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Ginseng
Group: Guests
Posts: 48
Joined: Jan. 2013
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Posted on: Jan. 30 2013, 10:35 am |
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I scope out hitchers VERY carefully now days, about half the time I drive by, I believe in instinct, if it smells bad, keep moving (bad pun). But the ones I do pick up, and let me tell ya, with only 4 highways coming into/out of Vegas, there are a few, but not many. anyway, most are just trying to get the hell out of this place.
I just remembered, once in 1978 me and a buddy picked up 2 GIRLS, about 20 yo hitching back to St Louis, they had 180 miles to go and were in the backwoods of Missouri down on the Current River, now that would not be smart now, especially in METHsouri.
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Walking since 1962
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hikerjer
Group: Members
Posts: 9144
Joined: Apr. 2002
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Posted on: Jan. 30 2013, 11:45 am |
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Well, it's about time. In the days of my youth I did a lot, and I mean a lot, of hitch-hiking, all around the country, Canada, Mexico and Europe. It was one of the most educational and meaningful experiences of my life. Wouldn't have missed it for the world. Often I hitched through Wyoming and while I never was hassled, unlike in Mississippi, Colorado and Pennsylvania, I always was looking over my shoulder watching for the authoriites. BTW, Wyoming was absolutely the worse state in the country to try and get a ride in. In fact, I don't think I ever got a ride from a Wyoming resident. It was always from someone from out of state passing through. Maybe some of you residents of the "cowboy" state can explain that to me. 
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"Too often I have met men who boast only of how many miles they've traveled and not of what they've seen." - Louis L'Amour
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TravisNWood
W Y O M I N G
Group: Members
Posts: 14895
Joined: Apr. 2006
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Posted on: Jan. 30 2013, 12:06 pm |
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(hikerjer @ Jan. 30 2013, 9:45 am)
QUOTE . . . In fact, I don't think I ever got a ride from a Wyoming resident. It was always from someone from out of state passing through. Maybe some of you residents of the "cowboy" state can explain that to me.
I suspect the reasons may be similar to this incident. Sometime in the early 1970's or so, I rode a motorbike up into the mountains and found I had a flat tire. The nearest phone was miles away at a small store that sold fishing bait etc. So I walked to that location and called a relative who lived not too far away.
As the relative drove my way to pick me and the motorbike up, I walked away from the little store and sat on a grassy area along the forest road and waited for my ride. While I was not soliciting a ride or bothering anyone, there was one comment yelled from a passing vehicle that stuck in my mind. This was a Sunday afternoon, mind you.
The lady yelled, "Get a job!"
I suspect that far too many people, especially in the hippie era, thought that hitchhiking indicated vagrancy or sloth. Now if I had been wearing a cowboy hat, shiny silver belt buckle, and pointed boots, I might have inspired a different attitude.
Make sense? As you say: it's the "Cowboy State," and proud of it.
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Location — Wyoming
Webpages — Cloud Peak Wilderness Maps — Rocky Mountain Wildlife
Photos — Bighorn Mountains — Wyoming Steppes
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wycanislatrans
Group: Members
Posts: 2268
Joined: Nov. 2005
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Posted on: Jan. 31 2013, 10:20 am |
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(TravisNWood @ Jan. 30 2013, 10:06 am)
QUOTE I suspect that far too many people, especially in the hippie era, thought that hitchhiking indicated vagrancy or sloth. Now if I had been wearing a cowboy hat, shiny silver belt buckle, and pointed boots, I might have inspired a different attitude.
Make sense? As you say: it's the "Cowboy State," and proud of it.
I suspect you're right. I am often clad in boots, jeans and a hat, and sometimes I'm in my "granola, backpacking hippie" gear. It's amazing how differently I am treated.
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Reminiscence
Group: Members
Posts: 3532
Joined: Sep. 2007
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Posted on: Feb. 01 2013, 8:37 pm |
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(Ginseng @ Jan. 30 2013, 10:35 am)
QUOTE I scope out hitchers VERY carefully now days, about half the time I drive by, I believe in instinct, if it smells bad, keep moving (bad pun). But the ones I do pick up, and let me tell ya, with only 4 highways coming into/out of Vegas, there are a few, but not many. anyway, most are just trying to get the hell out of this place.
I just remembered, once in 1978 me and a buddy picked up 2 GIRLS, about 20 yo hitching back to St Louis, they had 180 miles to go and were in the backwoods of Missouri down on the Current River, now that would not be smart now, especially in METHsouri.
I tried to hitch out of Vegas once. Was really NOT a good time.
Do people still hitchhike? Like hikerjer, I've hitched all over the USA, Mexico, and Europe. My latest hitching adventure (Summer 2012) got me across the entire Alps mountain range by thumb and then north to Berlin, with the exception of the valley up to Zermatt, which is closed to private vehicles. It wasn't all easy, but most of it was. And when you're not getting a ride, just go into any store and get some beer, which is generally legal to drink on the street. Locally, people hitch up and down Boulder Canyon every day of the week.
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When you are out West
Please, at my behest
Since you are Nature's guest
Do something to help the rest:
Dismantle a fire ring;
Take a stone and give a swing.
You may find that it will bring
A lift of goodness 'neath your wing.
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Survival Skills 101 • Eat Better
