The Hitchhiking Movie: Hitching Across the U.S.

I’m still cleaning out my mailbox after being gone, and trying to catch up on a few things, and here is one that I thought might be of interest. It is a bit of a different adventure, but certainly one none the less. 11Visions has put together an interesting film called The Hitchhiking Movie, in which two men set out to see if they could cross the United States without a car of their own or any money. Oh yeah, and they wanted to do it in under a week.

There was a time when hitchhiking was fairly popular in the U.S. and you would often see men and women stand alongside the road with their thumb out. But times have changed fairly dramatically since that era, and now you see hitchhikers much more infrequently. As drivers, it has been ingrained in our brains that we shouldn’t pick them up, and that that it could be very dangerous. It is in that climate that filmmakers Ryan Jeanes and Phillip Hullquist set out on their cross country odyssey.

The two men set out from New York, with Los Angeles as their ultimate goal. 3000 miles to cover in seven days. It would require the kindness of strangers to complete the trip, and it is questionable if that kindness actually exists any more. Did they make it? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out for sure, but you can view a bunch of clips on the films website, and you can pick it up on DVD or watch it online as well.

Pretty cool concept, and proof that adventure travel doesn’t necessarily have to include flying off to some far flung location. This seemed like a great adventure too. Setting off on a long distance trek, without ever knowing if you’d make it, and relying completely on others. Crazy! 🙂

Check out the trailer below.

Kraig Becker

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