Asheville, North Carolina → Colonial Heights, Tennesse

A cool couple with a dog from Asheville stopped for us after a 40 minute wait. We chatted about politics and travel and they went out of their way to drop us in a good location. Wonderful people!

Colonial Heights, Tennessee → Wytheville, Virginia

A man named Ben picked us up. He was in Tennessee for his daughter's track meet, headed back to Ohio.

Wytheville, Virginia → Radstock, Virginia

A woman and her young son, we rode in the back of her red pickup. She said she'd pray to Jesus for our safety and wished us luck.

Radstock, Virginia → Highway near Roanoke, Virginia

Two Cuban men picked us up. They spoke only Spanish, and I spoke Italian with them… Somehow we understood each other!

Highway near Roanoke → Downtown Roanoke, Virginia

A super sweet woman with a dog picked us up before we even put out our thumbs. Drove us right where we needed to be.

Holly Springs → Canton

Another woman drove us to the next town. Talked about fly fishing and owning her own land.

Canton → Jasper

A couple just going for a drive offered to drive us a ways. It was their 5 year old son's birthday.

Jasper → Blue Ridge

A German woman who lives in Blue Ridge picked us up.

Blue Ridge → Mineral Bluff

Two women from Tennessee picked us up. Their accents were very distinct! Referred to us as "you'ins" instead of "y'all." Warned us that there is a lot of drug addiction in the area.

Mineral Bluff → Culberton

Two older conservative women stopped for us. "Are you girls crazy???" They had never picked up hitchhikers before, but felt they had to stop for us.

Culberton → Murphy

Lee, originally from San Antonio, drove us to Murphy on his way to Walmart.

Murphy → Andrews

This man saw us before he went into Walmart and thought "I'll give them a ride if they're still out there when I'm done." We were still out there, so he offered to drive us to the next town over. Ex-army, married with 2 kids. Said he wished more people who claim Christianity actually followed Christ's teachings.

Andrews → Asheville

Brian was awesome! He lives in Asheville and offered us his couch, and gave us many recommendations for what to do in the city. We discussed veganism, feminism, racism, activism, and nonviolent communication.

Woodstock → Holly Springs

After standing at the on ramp for 30 minutes, 2 police showed up. The Concerned Citizens of Woodstock had reported 2 teenager girls were trying to hitchhike (we are 24 and 26 years old lol.) The police were cordial with us and wished us luck. After another 30 minutes, a woman named Kathy drove us a few exits up. She works as a cleaner, and said if she wasn't heading to work… (read on in Trip)

Two older men driving to Reno for a weekend of gambling. Really nice fellows, former school teachers, have a "No hate, no fear, no Trump" bumper sticker.

This lovely woman from Idaho with her dog Luna. We talked about farming and hiking.

A bounty hunter named Kay Rae Rae. She told me I was CRAZY for hitchhiking without a knife. She offered to give me a bicycle to ride instead. Warned me about rednecks.

Nice local lady with a pug named Bug drove us into town.

This guy from North Pole, Alaska picked us up. He shared some great anecdotes about growing up in a town dedicated to Christmas.

This woman stopped for us because she thought we were PCT hikers. She works for Save the Children and had some interesting stories. She drove us out of the park.

A sweet couple from Mississippi stopped for us, we rode in the back of their pickup all the way to our farm. We were super touched, because they pulled over a few times to make sure we were warm, giving us blankets and extra sweaters to put on. Really good people.

A couple from Idaho who were returning to Boise after a successful trimming season. They rearranged stuff in their car to make room for us.

Two sisters in their seventies heading all the way to Crater Lake! Sweet, sweet ladies.

A guy who works in pest control.

A woman named Kaitlin, she thought I was a PCT hiker. Drove me to her trailhead.

A group of college kids going hiking. Drive out of their way to get me to a decent spot.

A gay man who grew up in Klamath Falls. We talked about his life and rural Oregon and listened to show tunes.

Cougar Hot Springs →Eugene

Rilo drove me to Eugene after a day at the hot springs!

Arcata →Cougar Hot Springs

I was hitchhiking with a woman from Slovenia and a man from Spain. They were heading to Grants Pass, I hoped to go further. Rilo stopped for us, and I ended up going all the way to Cougar Hot Springs with her and camping there for the night.

Elk →Fort Bragg

Jeff, a former peace activist who was drafted into the Vietnam war, picked me up. Shared lots of interesting stories.

Fort Bragg →Willets

After a two hour wait, Jeff returned and said he couldn't leave me in such a bad spot. He ended up driving me 45 minutes out of his way to Willets.

Willets →Rest stop

A local man with a long grey beard.

Rest stop →Arcata

Two women from a Eureka, former traveler kids. Drove out of their way to get me to Arcata.

Sebastopol

A woman with her daughter drove me to a better spot

Sebastopol →Freestone

A kiwi man gave me a ride a few miles out. He said "the more you travel the more you trust."

Freestone →Gualala

A fisherman named Tony picked me up. He's a pacifist who likes helping out travelers. Drove out of his way.

Gualala →Point Arena

A Christian man picked me up. He evangelized and shared conspiracy theories.

Point Arena →Elk

Two kids going camping picked me up. Told me about the local queer scene and gave me recommendations.

Meyers Flat →Santa Rosa

Hitched a converted school bus! Three Israelis and an American picked us up.