Hopping Freight Trains & Wandering Around

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Freight Trains

Short stories from the road, wandering around and hopping freight trains

The Silver Path through an Ivory Blanket (2020)

The Silver Path through an Ivory Blanket (2020)

I took the bus from Manchester to Rutland for $2.00 so I could finally ride the train to Bennington. I've ridden every other direction out of the VRS yard except this line south and wanted to go through the Green Mountains. I no longer have work so what else was I gonna do? Public transit for some reason always attracts the people that want to talk to strangers. I'm not

Bummin' Outside Zion (2023)

Bicycle Touring

Bummin' Outside Zion (2023)

I always look for dead end roads. You never know what you're gonna find. Sometimes it's like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow because I'll stumble upon hiking trailheads that take me off the beaten path away from the haughty fleet of tourists or to the outskirts of town where I can peacefully read a book, relax, enjoy the tranquility of nature, and camp

Riding Freight through the Clouds (2020)

Riding Freight through the Clouds (2020)

I spent the hours before dusk curled up in the dirt beneath a bush, with empty bottles and cans of beer scattered around me, left by past train hoppers. Plastic bags of trash dangled from the limbs of holly trees lined up along the tracks while I lay there patiently waiting on a westbound train to NOLA. The series of bushes camouflaged me from the cameras by the railroad tracks, allowing me to lay there

Scotty Doesn't Know (2020)

Scotty Doesn't Know (2020)

Scotty was a dreamer, a raconteur of tales at sea, a bullshitter. He stood about the same height as myself, maybe slightly taller, with a stubbly, red beard, a face tattoo of a diamond pointing inward towards his left eye, and a hummingbird decorating his neck. An assortment of other various tattoos colored his forearms like The Illustrated Man. I studied his hands and could tell he had served time in prison from the spiderweb

A Pig Really Does Have Wings (2019)

A Pig Really Does Have Wings (2019)

My eyes felt heavy like stone as I woke to Spanish chatter from an early morning construction crew. It was 5 am. Men stood around a concrete pad working on a foundation as I fumbled around trying to pack up my gear, completely drained of serotonin with bloodshot eyes, and a strong will to keep myself from falling back asleep in the desert weeds by a mound of dry concrete. I hid behind a cement

Under a Needle-Infested Bridge (2017)

Under a Needle-Infested Bridge (2017)

“This story is from the winter of 2017 after I gave Kelly most of my money to pay off her credit card debt, and traveled America on little to no money with Rooster and Teardrop waiting for summer to hit the air and the upcoming skydiving season to start, so I could get back to work in WNY. I had nothing to do, and nowhere to go, so I rode freight, waiting for work to

Lawless Oakland and the Drug Epidemic (2021)

Lawless Oakland and the Drug Epidemic (2021)

We called in train after train after train at the usual spot, but alas, no northbounds to the Pacific Northwest, just a bunch of junk headed to Oakland, Wyoming and Pocatello. We shimmied in and out of multiple holes in the fence, getting excited to catch a train, but left in disappointment. The forecast called for a light sprinkle, but I knew better so I snuggled up in my cocoon pulling my bivy up and

Reach for the Stars (2016)

Reach for the Stars (2016)

I'll never forget our peaceful stay, down by the old trestle, that's since gone away. We sat. And we waited. The seconds to minutes. The minutes to hours. I started losin’ hope. Hope that we'd catch a day ride outta that spot near the Genesee. Wantin' to send my friend off to Chicago with somethin' to remember, years down the road. When the sun began to die

My First Freight and the Puke that Followed (2016)

My First Freight and the Puke that Followed (2016)

It all started back in March of 2016. I caught my first freight that spring. I was working as a dishwasher in the Grand Canyon to hike and explore that 'big hole' that so many tourists flock to every year to see. I loved it. I loved partying with co-workers, learning Spanish curse words with the Peruvians, dancing, the sleepless nights, hiking and camping, all to wake up and do it again the