New Year Hitchhiker Gathering

Southern California, desert vagabond site
(exact location TBA on digihitch.com)

Hitch on out to the deserts of southern California after Christmas...

The New Year Hitchhiker Gathering in southern California will bring together the past, present and future of hitchhiking- all in the open desert. Read the latest announcement by clicking here, and learn about past events on the Hitchhiker Gathering homepage.

Ask questions and get answers about the Hitchhiker Gathering in the Great Campfire forums (click here).

There will be a Hitchhiker Scavenger Hunt following the Gathering beginning January 3rd from Los Angeles. Get details on digihitch.com, or in a separate listing here on Craigslist.

To get involved, volunteer or help promote, you can send a feedback form by clicking here.

Road-keen writers, speakers and performers are encouraged to contact us in advance. Also, a documentary filmmaker will be chronicling the event. Let us know how you'd like to participate. To perform, join the film crew or donate equipment/supplies, please use the above form.


Hitchhiking is alive in North America. Come to the desert to get connected and go further...

The location of the gathering has been announced. Below are more details:

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• New Year's Eve Party with live band
• Awards ceremony (best travel chronicle, best road story, farthest from home, longest time on the road, etc)
• Fireside talks by road scholars; How-to seminars, conversation with Leonard Knight (creator of Salvation Mountain)
• Free camping & showers; Communal BBQs and hot meals (shared cost)
• Stories & lies from the road; New friends
• A non-conformist but all inclusive vibe; unique low desert scenery including the Salton Sea, Salvation Mountain, and Anza Borrego (Bring lots of film)
• Honor Library; Nearby major rail line; Nearby markets, restaurants, internet access & motel ($35); great weather.

WHERE: 190 miles south east of Los Angeles and 129 feet below sea level in the off-the-grid community of Slab City, California. Located four miles east of Niland on an abandoned Navy base, Slab City isn't actually a city at all. It's more a loose community of squatters, snowbirds and nomads who've pitched camps across 640 acres of open desert.

The Range, a no-permit, open air theater sits at the epicenter of "town" and will host several of our events. Reminiscent of a 1960s commune, The Range sports a large stage sandwiched between two dilapidated hippy busses parked on one of the city's namesake cement slabs. The facility boasts a small bar, several rows of salvaged airliner seats and a trash-barrel fire to keep you warm at night. This is truly a classic venue.

Our primary campsite will be setup within a half mile of The Range and be easy to find.

A New Year Hitchhiker Gathering is hosted by the people from www.digihitch.com.

NO FEE to attend. This is a NON PROFIT event.

For more information please checkout www.digihitch.com. To volunteer for the event or donate to the hitchhiker fund, visit the Volunteer form here.

(Estimated time to hitchhike from Austin to Slab City, California: 2 days)