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Do we have a generic 'things foreigners should do in the western USA' thread? If not here's one. The great nation of Canuckistan is giving me the boot, and I'm driving down to Los Angeles in May/June for few weeks/months and then heading up to Montana to live for a year or so. This is a good chance to explore the States so I figure I'll take a few weeks getting down and then a few heading back up. I have a Nissan Pathfinder (manual 4WD) that should make the trip and will be converting it into the most cramped camper van ever, and plan on doing quite a bit of stealth camping.  The google map is a vague boundary, and the plan is to meander wherever looks good. I'm really interested in weird food, mountains, hiking, camping, fishing, mountain biking (packed into the car somehow), pointing at animals (and not being eaten by them), odd vegetation, campfires and the weird poo poo you find out in the middle of nowhere. There's a bunch of travel books and resources, but what cool poo poo would goons recommend that I'd miss otherwise? I figure there's about 4-5 days of moderately hard driving each way, plus two or three weeks to stop and see/do poo poo. I'd like to find a secluded lake and just chill out for a few days at some point. I'm also on a budget and used to roughing it, so won't be staying in fancy hotels. Most national parks seem to charge a camping fee of ~$20+ even if it's just an empty space with a port-a-potty which is absurd... so what's the deal with car camping/wild camping etc? If I park off the side of the road or go down a logging road am I going to get a lot of hassle? Are there any other pointers for travel in the states that should come up? I've driven across Australia and Europe, and backpacked across Latin America for literally years, so I'm looking more at US specific issues. If this thread gets any love I'll rework the OP to be a bit more generic. Outrail fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Jan 31, 2017 |
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Jan 31, 2017 06:35
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 13:13 |
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Yeah my, visa's up and no chance of renewal. I've been to San Diego and Tijuana before and have no interest in doing that again, and don't want to extend into Mexico as I'll be doing that from the south at some point. Definitly will hit the beach, the route map was just plugged into google directions, I don't expect to follow it closely (or at all). Yeah, I've been couch surfing on and off for years now, is the site pretty good in the US or do people just want to meet for coffee? I've found over the years it's turned from a hosting/meeting site into more of a casual social media platform. Is it legal/accepted to pick up hitchhikers?
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Jan 31, 2017 16:38
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I imagine I'll end up at campgrounds out of laziness/convenience, but there's free barebones campgrounds and unofficial areas all over BC so I'm hoping for something like that. A friend wants to come with me but probably can't, and as much as I like my own company I'm going to get bored with myself at some point and/or need help paying for gas. Picking up a sexually curious college graduate on the road to finding herself is probably out of the realm of possibility but I've got tentative hopes on a surly middle aged drifter who won't cut my throat for the change in the ashtray when we pull over to look at a map. Has anyone here been through the Montana/Idaho/Nevada area? Cool abandoned towns or out of the way hiking trails? Edit: And Utah I guess. Outrail fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Jan 31, 2017 |
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Jan 31, 2017 18:03
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National Parks card look sweet. If I hit Yellowstone and camp two nights it pays for itself already. How can anyone not have one of those? I think between google and the rest of the internet there should be a few old places I can find. Planning on skipping Vegas unless I meet people to hang out with. I'm not really a gambler and hanging out in a tourist trap by yourself is usually pretty boring unless you stay at a hostel for a few days and make some short term friends. Zion looks cool though, I'm checking that out. How's security in that stretch of the woods? I'm hoping I can fit everything inside the cab, but my mountain bike probably won't fin and I want to hit cross country trail along the way. If I've got it chained up with the wheels off will people still bolt cut it off or will that be reasonably safe? Probably not if I'm car camping in big cities?
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Feb 2, 2017 05:12
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Yeah, that makes sense. Guess I can strip the wheels and pedals, then fit the frame in the front seat when I'm sleeping. Gonna be a tight fit.
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Feb 3, 2017 21:12
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That is solid, awesome advice. Great link. So basically I can free camp almost anywhere in Nevada? Is it usually stupidly cold or hot in Nevada or a it milder in late may/June? Average temperature isn't much good if it switched g's alot. I'm used to the cold in Canada, and used to work in the Australian Outback so handle - 10C to +45C but... Yeah. Chilling out in hammock by that lake for a few would be amazing.
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Feb 9, 2017 00:18
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 13:13 |
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Sweet, I'm going to be so filthy by the time I get to LA. The hoon meet threads are pretty dead, are there any active threads with people in the area? Wouldn't mind meeting up with some red state goons.
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Feb 9, 2017 21:09
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