by Vago Damitio
Boots: I’ve probably put 10,000 miles on my boots. They’ve gone through three sets of soles, a dozen sets of laces, I’ve had them patched, replaced the insoles repeatedly, and will continue to do so. Once you find a good pair of boots…keep them forever. (Note: I let my boots go while living in Hawaii in 2008, but I wish I’d kept them!)
Jacket: Even if it’s not cold where you are a lightweight jacket is worth carrying. I use a simple waterproof shell with a hood. It blocks the wind and keeps me dry. I can wear layers underneath if it’s cold.
Blanket: A wool blanket will keep you warm even if it is wet. You can use it as a pillow, a poncho, roll it into a pack, and use it for a cushion, whatever. A good blanket has a thousand functions.
Tarp: A six-foot by six-foot tarp will keep you dry anywhere, it will keep your gear dry, it’s light, it folds up small, and if you combine it with the tarps of friends it can become part of a communal tarpatecture structure. More on tarpatecture later.
Possibles Bag: The possibles bag is a small bag you can carry on your belt, in your pack, or somewhere on your person. Basically it is a bag that has gear in it to help you in any situation possible. My possibles bag typically has an extra pair of eyeglasses, some fishhooks and line, a flint and steel striker, some basic first aid gear, and a pen and paper. Depending on where I am, the contents of my ‘possibles’ changes.
Four ways to get what you need but don’t yet have
Buying. The easy way to get what you want is to buy it. Whether you are looking for food, shelter, love, or excitement; cash can get you most of what you need. I’m not knocking it, but buying is not my favorite way to get what I need and not just because I don’t have a big wad of jack.
Making. This is my favorite method of getting the essentials. It involves looking around at what you already have and figuring out a way to make it into what you need. A monk I met in Thailand had this down to an art. He said, "First I look at what I have, then I figure out why it is exactly what I need." I’m not so enlightened as he is but I am pretty good at what the Marines call "adapting and overcoming".
Asking. This method is scary in it’s effectiveness. You figure out exactly what it is you want, who has it or can provide it, and then you ask for it. There’s no guarantee it will work, but I’ve found it invaluable to get over my shyness or sense of the ridiculous and simply ask, "Can I have this coat?" or whatever…you won’t know until you try it. Remember that loser from college who used to ask every girl he met for a blowjob? I bet he eventually got one!
Taking. I’m not proud of it, but I’ve done some taking. I always tried to restrict my theft to what I truly needed or to things that didn’t hurt individuals with their loss. Sure, it’s justification, but it feels better to know the bank, the airlines, or the credit card company will reimburse someone. If you truly want to learn how to take things, I recommend Abbie Hoffman’s “Steal This Book.”
Specific Example. Tobacco
Buying- you walk into a store, give a clerk your money, and walk out with a smoke.
Making- you pick up cigarette butts on your stroll around the neighborhood and then smoke the tobacco from them in a cigarette you roll using a cigarette paper or a piece of newspaper.
Asking- you ask smokers you see "Can I bum a smoke?" until someone gives you one.
Taking- you steal the tobacco from a person or a store.
The Types of Tramping
Like most vocations, there are a number of different ways to tramp or vagabond. Your needs are going to be different depending on where you are and what you spend your time doing. Like everything else we will talk about in this book. It’s a matter of personal preference.
Tropical Tramping is my preferred mode of rough living. The thing I like about it is the warmth of the water, the lack of necessary gear, and the variety of activities. Beach bums are what most of tropical tramps are called. It sounds almost respectable, doesn’t it?
Temperate Tramping is pretty good. You have to do a little more preparing to tramp in a temperate area. You need a way to keep dry. For both you and your gear. You probably need blankets at night. You are going to have a little tougher time finding a place to bathe. It’s all doable. It just requires a little more work.
Cold Weather Tramps work too hard in my opinion. Cold weather tramps have to have a shelter (or else they have to be tougher than they are crazy!) They need to have plenty of gear. They need to have fire on a regular basis. They need to eat enough calories to keep the body going strong. Again, it can be done, but why do it the hard way if you don’t have to.
Packing Heavy vs. Packing Light
When I first started living this way, I moved from a house into a VW bus. I tried to get rid of things but there was so much that I felt necessary to my existence, I wasn’t very successful. I had three pots, two pans, a cheese grater, soup ladles, four sets of silverware (in case I had guests), plates, cups, folding chairs, books, books, and more books, framed pictures, knickknacks on the dash, art supplies, computer gadgets, a guitar, a fiddle, a harmonica, three different size packs, three pillows, four sets of sheets, ten changes of clothing, six sets of shoes, a dog, the dog’s toys, the dog’s pack, the dog’s food, my food, electric razor, seven blankets, a camp stove, a backpacking stove, an icebox, an electric heater, auto tools, woodworking tools, metal tools, knickknacks, toiletries, and about fifty thousand other things. It all went in the car. It was an ordeal each night to clear out a place to sleep. Sometimes, I slept on top of things rather than move them at night so I could sleep and then move them back in the morning so I could drive.
The upside was I had everything I could possibly need or want. I would visit friends and they would be amazed when they would off-handedly say “It’s too bad we don’t have a croquet set!”and I would pull one out of my bus. Or when I made breakfast in the bus for a couple of friends and it turned out to be gourmet omelets with bacon, toast, and hot coffee. I made it in the parking lot of the radio station I worked at for my coworkers. They were surprised as hell at my gourmet kitchen on wheels! It was fun, but what a pain in the ass.
Let’s look at the merits of packing light vs. packing heavy.
Packing Light
Plenty of space
Easy to move
Not obvious
Limited functionality
Requires creativity
Packing Heavy
Variety of Goods means lots of functionality
Takes lots of space
Looks obviously houseless
Hard to move
Limits your mobility
There are plenty of ways to get rid of the extra stuff. If you have furniture and brick-a-brac you can call a second hand junk dealer and have them come pick it up and give you a few bucks for it. This is assuming you still have a house, otherwise you can drop it off. They don’t pay much, but it’s certainly better than carting all that stuff around, right?
Maybe you would feel better donating it to charity. You can drop off just about anything with the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and local thrift stores. Community Services for the Blind will pick things up at your house.
Maybe you have a bunch of things that hold family value. My advice is give that stuff to your family that has space for it. Either give it, loan it, or ask to store a few boxes of ‘grandma’s china’ in Cousin Eldon’s basement.
This brings us to storage. I used to keep a $20 a month storage unit. I have a few things I eventually want to hang on walls when I have some. I have a few family heirlooms and a few things that are too valuable to me to get rid of. Storage is a good option if you find yourself in a similar situation. I prefer paying for storage to keeping things at a friend or relative’s house because I know that my storage unit isn’t going to move, I’m the only one with access to it (because Cousin Eldon’s kids might not know it’s grandmas china and use it for slingshot practice), and because it’s one less thing to think about.
For those who want to have the most options in mobility, p
acking light wins. For those who want to have the most options in a sedantary life, having a lot of stuff is cool. I admit it, I still carry around too much stuff but my list is smaller now than that huge one above. My vagabond kit these days is a wool coat, a leather bag with a change of clothes, sarong, swim trunks, my laptop, chargers, notebook, sewing kit, identification, and phone. If I won’t be flying anywhere, I bring my Swiss Army Knife. I have a metal coffee cup with a lid and a French Press attachment that I made which comes where I’m not sure there will be cheap coffee.
The rest of it goes in storage somewhere. Here is my list from living in a van in Hawaii. One burner stove, mess kit, coffee cup, food, blanket, knife, sleep pad, hammock, duffel bag of clothes, running shoes, flip flops, guitar, tennis racket, LED light, journal, and a couple of books. I also had a walkman radio and a couple of cheap tools to work on the car.
The key is this. If you carry something for a couple of weeks and you don’t use it at all. Get rid of it.
HOME WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE ONE
You’ve gotta sleep somewhere. Vagabonds develop a knack for having a secure place to sleep. There are a few key things to look for when you’re seeking shelter. A good shelter protects you from the elements. It keeps your gear dry. It keeps your gear from going into some other hobo’s hands. Most importantly, it protects you from the human predators are definitely out there.
Here are a few ideas about camping to get you started:
If you plan to camp, you need to have a decent brown or green tarp. Whether you use it as your shelter, a groundcloth, or to sleep in, you will find it to be $10 very well spent. I maintained a camp in the woods behind a park in Bellingham, Washington for almost a year with no one stumbling on it. I even challenged a couple of friends to go back and find it and none of them could.
BLM and conservation land in the west are readily available for free camping although the laws are getting tighter year by year. There are also still some primitive campgrounds in National and State Forests (cheap or free). National Forests, in most areas, still allow dispersed (non-campground) camping with varying restrictions.
Another camping opportunity in the Mid-West and East, are Army Corps of Engineering sites. Some are very well developed and not too pricey if they have a cost at all.
Department of Wildlife areas in Washington State are set aside for hunting. Pretty neat for camping when out of hunting season. Many of the timber companies set aside areas for recreation too. There is a electric company in Ohio that set up camping areas. All you need is a permit, which you get on-line. Very nice and free!
In the Southwest, land is often unclaimed or government owned. If you’re there, I recommend the Mogollon Rim above Payson. Camping there can be free or you can pay if you want more security and services like bathrooms and site maintenance. In regards to public land . . .Your taxes (or mine) pay for them!
Here’s an important rule of thumb for camping; pack it out! Leave nothing to show you were there. Even if it means cleaning up after the jerk who was there before you.
I should add that sometimes the areas that look least desirable for a camp are the best..in the northwest blackberry brambles can be worth the work to clear a tunnel to the center of one and then clear out a room. the tunnel can be a pain to cut out, but if you do it right it’s easy to cover it up with some sort of foliage.
I’m also a big fan of tree houses. it’s not too difficult to build a simple platform in a tree and tarp over it. if you do it right you can make it invisible from the ground.
Houseless Hygiene
Proper cleanliness is the single biggest way to safeguard your health, bar none. Be a cleanliness nut. Keep your clothes clean, keep yourself clean, and show others think you are clean by grooming. Be sure to keep your hair trimmed and your beard shaved or neat. Keep a small pair of sharp scissors to trim your beard if you can’t shave and just learn to trim it by feel and going over your whole face. Don’t let it get more than 1/4 inch long if your camping out because you’ll look too scruffy otherwise.
Don’t ever let yourself stink. You’ll find potential friends will run from you fast if you’re not clean. Unless you really dislike the company and cooperation of others, be a nut about cleanliness because it will be hard to stay clean living in a camp. Being a cleanliness nut will help a lot. Last, remember the left hand rule-never touch anything dirty with your right hand--always the left. And never touch anything clean like your face, food, or a friend with your left--always your right. This will keep you healthier than you can imagine. It’s not just about bum washing (get it? Haha!).
Keeping yourself clean and well groomed keeps your self esteem higher and makes meeting people easier. Nobody wants to invite a stinky bum to dinner. Use a bucket and a sponge if you have to. Wash in a stream, lake, or under a faucet. Public restrooms are a good place to shave and wash if you have a small kit with a sponge, soap, and a razor. Take care of yourself!
Shelters and Missions
I don’t like homeless shelters or missions. I’ve visited them, but never bothered staying. I’ve talked with enough people to know that it’s not for me. There is an underlying edge of violence and theft that seems to pervade such places. I’m not interested in hearing about God in exchange for a bed. In visiting, I’ve found that shelters seem to be places devoid of hope. There are many options that are much more appealing.
If you need to stay in a shelter or mission there are a few things you need to know. First, you should find a way to safeguard your important things. If you are packing heavy with things you don’t want to lose, find a place to stash them. Most shelters are filled with unsavory types that will go through your bag. “Sure,” you might think, “but why would they want to steal from me, I’m poor too!” Exactly. It’s easier to prey on the poor than on the rich. If you have money, important papers, or credit cards, keep them on your person at all times or ask the person running the shelter if there is a secure place to put them. As for the rest of your gear, keep an eye on it.
I don’t mean to sound completely negative about shelters and missions. I’ve met good people that stayed in them because they needed to. It’s a valuable service. You can make friends with this kind of people once you are there. There truly is safety in numbers.
If you are not a person of a religious nature or if you don’t like having religion crammed down your throat, this might be a difficult place for you to stay. Most of the missions and shelters are religiously based and they love to shove that religion down people’s throats.
Couch Surfing
Ben Franklin said, "House guests are like fish, they start smelling in three days." My friends are usually more tolerant but the key to staying at other people’s pads is to remember they are working to pay for their space. As a couch surfer you need to make sure you give your hosts their space. Some definite no-no’s are hogging the TV, not cleaning up after yourself, and occupying space without giving anything in return.
Doing light chores will usually win the gratitude of your hosts. Things like washing dirty dishes, vacuuming the floor, and cleaning the bathroom don’t take long but make you look good. Personally, I like to cook meals for my hosts. I’m a good cook with a knack for taking whatever is available and making it into something tasty. If you don’t have the same gift you can never go wrong cooking eggs and toast in the morning. Breakfast is cheap and most people enjoy having it served to them in the comfort of their home. Some of my favorite cheapskate gourmet recipes are included in the index of this book.
The hardest part of couch surfing is dealing with the people that live there. Don’t get me wrong. I am appreciative of what they are doing and offering, but where people exist, problems exist. People want and are willing to help you, and that’s nice. However, they can start to resent you taking up their space in a very short time. They don’t want to be bad people and tell you to move on, they know you don’t have anywhere else to go. That’s when the passive-aggressive behavior begins.
When passive
aggressive behavior starts is when I would rather live in a doorway.
(Note: When I wrote this back in 2001, there was no such thing as couchsurfing.com In 2004, Casey Fenton, the founder of Couchsurfing.com contacted me to see if I would pro have a stranger sleep in their home. I was wrong. Couchsurfing now has millions of members and is a great travel service — I met my wife through couchsurfing.com — but you’ll have to read Smooth Living: Beyond the Life of a Vagabond to find out about that! I also go into the how-tos of couchsurfing.com in that book.)
Urban Camping and Squatting
In a pinch you can do what I like to call urban camping. There are different variations depending on your circumstances. In a city like Portland, Oregon there are a lot of couches on a lot of covered porches. If you arrive late enough and leave early enough, these hospitable sites can be the perfect place to crash out. Once I was caught in a small Colorado town during a snowstorm and managed to stay warm by crawling under a 4x4 which pulled into a driveway at about 10 PM. The heat from the engine lasted long enough to get me through the worst of the storm.
Urban camping can also be more traditional. I once camped on a park bench in Regent’s Park across from Buckingham Palace in London, England for three nights in a row. As I lay there wrapped in my blanket, I had a recurring fantasy where the Queen was going to invite me to morning tea. She didn’t. On that same trip to England, I set up a tent in some bushes in Epping Forest for a week. No one discovered me — except a few dogs who came galloping in to see what was in the bushes and left in terror when they found me cooking sausages and beans.
The key to being successful in this kind of urban camping is to find a spot invisible from roads or paths, with an inconspicuous entrance and/or exit, and to be discreet in how you behave there. For example, fires are probably not a good idea in most cities but Sterno works fine if you need to cook something.