Hitchhiking Journals
1974
April - May - June - July - August - September
by Craig Mains
NOTE: Best viewed with a tablet or larger display.
Click/Tap on the month or the photo to read the journal. Click/Tap on the map to view a larger one.
Hitchhiking Journals
April - May - June - July - August - September
by Craig Mains
These travel journals are based on scribbled notes I took while hitchhiking around the US and Canada in the 1970s. They were, however, written 50+ years later. I have attempted to write as honestly as possible about my travels, even when it was about something I did that was stupid. I also tried to limit commentary by my older self on things that happened 50 years ago to footnotes and photo captions. However, some more present-day ponderings occasionally creep into the general narrative.
These travel stories are dedicated to anyone who traveled with me, gave me a ride, invited me into their home, fed me, let me sleep on their floor or couch, let me use their shower, bought me a beer, prayed for me, warned me about or saved me from a serial killer, gave me work, got me stoned, hiked or camped out with me, or showed me something that only local people know about. Many thanks. ~ Craig Mains
Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Virginia
Summary for April
Morgantown, WV to New Orleans to Virginia Beach
Craig Mains’s April travel journal recounts his hitchhiking journey through the American South in 1974. It provides a vivid portrait of hitchhiking life during the 1970s, highlighting both the challenges and unexpected kindnesses encountered on the road.
⋄ Dinner with the Primitive Baptist Pie Ladies
⋄ Grits and gravy with a free-lance Egyptologist
⋄ A chat with Mac Rebennack (aka Dr. John)
⋄ Front “row” at the Fire Relief Benefit
⋄ Four-stitch car crash
April 1974 Travel Route - 2656 miles, 7 states
Summary for May
Virginia Beach to East Brunswick, NJ.
This travelogue follows Mains through the month of May 1974 as he switches from hitchhiking to working in a traveling circus, while moving through Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. It blends storytelling with reflection, offering insight into work routines, social dynamics, living conditions, and the physical labor involved in circus life. His narrative is a candid portrayal of a transient, marginalized community rarely seen by outsiders.
⋄ Clyde Beatty/Cole Brothers Circus
⋄ 15-pound sledge
⋄ Gammo vanishes
⋄ Serving up raw meat
May 1974 Travel Route - 1133 miles, 4 states
Summary for June
East Brunswick to St. John’s, NL to Québec City, QC
The continuation of Mains’s travel journal recounts his final days working with the circus and his transition back to independent hitchhiking as he travels across the northeastern US and Canada. It describes a wide range of encounters with kind strangers who offer food, rides, and shelter; fellow travelers; reckless drivers; and moments of natural beauty and solitude.
⋄ Steaks for 48
⋄ Purple skies of Binghamton
⋄ Mt. Penobscot
⋄ The kind girls of Alma
⋄ The End of the World Hostel
June 1974 Travel Route - 3053, 6 states, 4 provinces.
Summary for July
Québec City to Jasper Free Camp, AB
The July journal narrative follows Mains as he heads west through the northern US and Canada, arriving in the Canadian Rockies by the end of the month. The account is marked by temporary work in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and diverse encounters with people and places.
⋄ Banished to the Plains of Abraham
⋄ Janitors’ Happy Hour
⋄ Hanging with Shakey Jake
⋄ A Doukhobor in a champagne-colored bus
⋄ Jasper Freak Camp
July 1974 Travel Route - 3079 miles, 4 states, 5provinces
Summary for August
Jasper Free Camp to Escondido, CA
Mains’s long hitchhiking journey continues to the west coast of Canada and then south through Washington, Oregon, and California, during which he experiences natural beauty, odd social encounters, money problems, and temporary work. The narrative touches on freedom versus hardship; beautiful landscapes contrasted with occasional hunger, illness, and the unpredictability of life on the road.
⋄ Whistlers Mountain
⋄ Double stacking in Prince George
⋄ A favor
⋄ Moving in the Covelkos
⋄ Coffee with Sandy
August 1974 Travel Route - 3146 miles, 2 provinces, 3 states.
Summary for September
Escondido to Morgantown
In the final leg of Mains’s trip, he leaves Escondido and travels north through the Mojave Desert and the Owens Valley along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After reaching Reno, he begins traveling east, where he experiences long waits for rides and moments of generosity. Ending where he started in Morgantown, the narrative captures a balance between the romantic and the difficult aspects of hitchhiking.
⋄ Hanging with Mr. Gossage
⋄ Lembert Dome
⋄ Stuck in Reno
⋄ G Street, Lincoln
September 1974 Travel Route - 3327 miles, 12 states.
All 1974 travel routes for April, May, June, July, August and September
All 1974 travel routes for April, May, June, July, August and September.
16,454 miles, 30 states, 9 provinces, which includes hitchhiking, traveling with the circus, and some ferry trips.
Hitchhiking Journals - 1974
⋄ April ⋄ May ⋄ June ⋄ July ⋄ August ⋄ September
Hitchhiking Journals - 1973
February and March:
* Morgantown to Seattle by Thumb (mostly)
2778 miles, 13 states.
June - July - August - September:
* One Giant Cushion
13,535 miles, 31 States and 7 Provinces