Hobo Hiking with a Bindle: Old School, Minimalist

This video demonstrates how I hobo hike on trails with a bindle. We can learn a great deal about leading a simple life, survival and bushcraft by studying hobos. A hobo is a migratory worker or homeless vagabond, especially one who is penniless. The term originated in the United States after the American Civil War, when men searched for work by hopping trains. The number of hobos increased greatly during the Depression era of the 1930s. Life as a hobo was dangerous, violent and deadly. Not only were they thrown off trains for trespassing, but hopping trains was deadly.

You should not trespass on railroad property. Not only is it illegal, but it is dangerous. Many people have lost limbs or died trying to hop trains. You may be sucked under a moving train if you are too close. Four thousand people die or are injured annually while trespassing on railroad tracks.

Enjoy hobo hiking on trails, not rails. See: http://www.americantrails.org/resourc... , http://www.virginia.org/pressroom/sto... , http://www.railstotrails.org

Recently, several YouTube friends gave me a community staff for my 70th birthday. I am deeply honored by this award that was presented at the 3rd Annual Spring Bushcraft Meetup at Big South Fork in Tennessee. The idea for this gift came from Billy Joe (Bill in the Hills    / billyjoedenny   ). The staff can do many different things. Not only is it a walking stick, but it can be a hobo stick, to hold my bindle. Bill provided the aluminum pole that can boil water and a leather-covered handle that can be used as a torch and and always a saw. Ingeneous. The staff was then handed-off to other Bushcraft YouTubers.

Bob (Bob808Knight    / bob808knight   ) added a camera mount for the pole. Travis (Survive Without    / survivewithout   ) made a fishing pole attachment. Justin (grierwolfe    / grierwolfe   ) added detailed leatherwork and a firesteel with antler handle. And Darby (RiverBendSurvival    / riverbendsurvival   ) added an engraving that reads “To Ken for 70 years of loving nature.” This gift means more to me than you can imagine. I thank everyone for their contribution. Check out their YouTube Channels if you are not already subscribed. They are awesome folks and great friends who make videos worth watching.

Videography by Ken Kramm, Sam Houston, National Forest, Texas, USA, 16 July 2015; Canon Vixia HF G10, iPhone 6+, GoPro HERO4; Final Cut Pro X. "Batty McFaddin" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
"St Louis Waltz" Lucas Gonze Licensed under Public Domain https://archive.org/details/StLouisWaltz
"The wild and reckless hobo" Cowen Powers Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 Generic http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/sea... Issue Number/Label: 5131: Edison Blue Amberol Issue Number/Label: 10624: Edison Record Year of Release: [1926]