American Nomads Page #8

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momentum, and the wind builds down and out,

so you're getting pulled down

and under so you get sucked in.

And they'll just cut it off

and cauterise it right there,

grinding metal on metal. That trick

with the lug nuts is a hobo trick

that was passed on

to me by oral tradition

when I first started riding. Any

other tips for riding the trains?

Keep a knife and something blunt.

I mean, the knife's more

an intimidation thing.

If I start to get a sketchy vibe

from somebody if I'm hitchhiking

or something, I'll just start

cleaning my fingernails and so forth.

Smiley's an improvised weapon

that's blunt and kinda scary.

But you have a full wrap on it.

I don't know, it's definitely

kept me out of some situations.

I'd rather scare somebody than

hurt them, more than anything.

If I can scare someone

out of a sketchy situation,

then that's better than actually

having to come to blows.

You don't rape, you don't steal,

otherwise you will end up

floating down the river

or duct taped to a train.

You're not welcome in this

if you break these small ethic...

It's morals, I mean,

that's all travelling rules are,

is a best set of morals.

I mean, we all have them. Yeah.

It'll be a sad day when you

don't see anyone trying to make it

from place to place with their

thumb or hopping a train.

That was something I remember as a

kid, just sitting by the riverbank

and watching the train roll by,

and seeing a couple of kids

or old guys just sitting

on the back of the train

or in a boxcar or whatever,

and just wave on.

That'll be a sad day when I'm 60, 70,

if I make it through my tramping

days, and don't see that any more.

I rode freight trains because

I wanted to see what it was like.

I wanted to enter that other world.

It really is a tough way to travel.

I nearly froze to death

in Montana in a boxcar once.

I was riding with a bunch

of Vietnam vet hobos

and they all had dogs stuffed down

in their sleeping bags

to keep them warm. I didn't.

That was the last time

I got on a freight train

and I can't say that I miss it.

Let's order some breakfast.

I'm hungry.

I'd like two eggs over easy

with hash browns,

uh, toast and a side

of green chilli.

OK. How would you like your eggs?

Over easy.

And I'll have the sausage, please.

So your dad abandoned you

at a greyhound when you were 12?

What's the deal with your dad?

I don't know, too busy getting high.

He's an old hippie stoner

who's been dealing drugs

as long as I can remember.

It's kind of why my mom left him.

He's an old travelling deadhead.

I guess it's kind of in my genetics,

like my mom was an old punk rocker

that ran away from home

when she was about 17, 18.

I mean, she's always been there

but working 60 hours a week

trying to support me,

so it was always really difficult.

So you were left alone a lot.

Yeah, pretty much between

the age of seven and five,

I had to learn how to take care

of myself, learn to start cooking,

wake up every morning, go to school,

come home, there's nobody home,

make myself dinner, do my homework,

go to bed, till I got kicked out.

Right, that should feed you up -

you been getting square meals?

Cans of ravioli, apple sauce,

whatever I can dumpster...

Whatever soup kitchen

feeds up for the day.

You could stand to put on

a little weight there. Yeah.

I'm definitely

nothing but skin and bones.

That's why I have to wear suspenders

and a belt. Skinny white boy disease.

Thank you.

You seem pretty tough emotionally.

Is that a facade?

Or is that real?

A little bit of both.

Um...

I'd like to think I have a very

strong personality in a lot of ways.

I've seen people break

at a lot of less stress,

but a lot of times, I just got to keep

going until I can lay down and sleep,

and then I might cry myself to sleep

or whatever else happens,

but, I mean, my dreams

get crushed on a regular basis.

A month or two ago, I thought I was moving

to Durango to go live with my girlfriend,

and about two weeks ago, I found out

this isn't going to happen,

so that was my plan for the last...

six months, eventually, was to go.

So now... Were you in love with her?

I'd like to think so, but I'm 18,

I don't know what love is.

This is the first time I've felt this way

about anyone, so I'd like to think it's love.

I mean... The train leaves out of here

every night, there's at least one train.

At this point, it doesn't matter

where I go, East or West.

Once again, my life's

completely open to me.

I just met Comfrey

the day before yesterday,

but I find myself worrying about him

in kind of a fatherly way.

I know what it's like out on the rails,

it's dangerous and illegal and rough as hell.

There are knife fights, different gangs

of tramps and hobos who fight each other.

People get thrown off moving trains,

people get duct-taped

to moving trains,

so the tape gradually works loose

as the train picks up speed.

I told Comfrey to be careful,

and he said, "Yeah, right."

I tried to give him money,

and he said, "No, thanks."

He went east.

I went west to the Sierra Nevada

mountains in California.

They go 400 miles north to south,

and they're about 75 miles wide.

They've got glaciers and bears,

and the peaks are

well above 4,000 metres.

I love mountains, but I always

feel slightly uneasy here,

mainly because I have

a fear of heights.

I'm here to meet a legend.

Richard Bear, nicknamed Yogi, has been

wandering these mountains for 25 years.

He's climbed nearly all the peaks.

He lives by himself in a tent and he

never camps in the same place for long.

To get a message to Yogi, someone had go

20 miles up into the mountains on snowshoes,

and then come 20 miles

back down with the answer.

The answer was yes.

Yogi has agreed to meet me.

I was expecting some kind of

shaggy, grizzly wild man,

but Yogi is smooth, clean, polished.

Clearly no stranger to shampoo,

razors or toothpaste.

All the climbers and park rangers who spend

time in these mountains have stories about him.

He's the king of the backcountry,

a true modern-day mountain man

and the first thing he says is,

"Let's go. Follow me."

The story goes that he first

came here to commit suicide.

He spent the night intending to jump

off a mile-high cliff in the morning,

but woke up awestruck by the beauty

and grandeur of the mountains.

You were seriously thinking

about walking off a cliff?

Ah, well. Yeah, that was in my head.

That's for sure.

I can eliminate my 400 in debt!

HE LAUGHS:

And my lack of being married

and having all those kids,

by just stepping off El Capitan,

you know...

I got dropped off here.

The car drove away, I had

something like 20 in my wallet,

and my tent, and in

about half a day's time,

I hadn't felt so content in years,

maybe ever in my adult life

at that point. I just loved it.

'He's never looked back. He's

lived out of a backpack ever since.

'What does he do for money?

'He works seasonal jobs

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