Hall of Fame

Tramping in Houston The other day I ran into three guys and a young woman, all in their twenties I think, at Englewood Yards in Houston. Englewood is a big place, several miles long, and it sees a lot of tramps and trainhoppers. It's the biggest yard in town. Second biggest is probably Settegast Yards, and then Congress Yards, I guess. Englewood is a major point of origin for trains headed east to New Orleans. These trainhoppers were headed to the Big Easy and they looked pretty beat. The weather is still almost like summer down here, in the 80's, and they looked like they were hot, dirty and skeeter-bit. I was impressed with their gear, though. Despite the fact that they looked a little road weary, every one of their crew (the girl, too) was wearing outdoor work boots, blue jeans or camouflage trousers, had a good coat or a field jacket, gloves and a hat, and they were all four carrying good rucks. The girl and two of the guys had military surplus medium ALICE packs with no frame, the third guy was carrying a dark-colored mountain rucksack. They were not carrying bindles, however. I wonder what they were using to sleep in? Maybe sleeping bags that can be "stuffed" into a much smaller bag. I met them on the east end of Englewood, trying to figure out which track led to New Orleans. They had no map, and I didn't notice any water containers except for a military canteen on one guy's pack. I dug out my maps and showed them which track led to New Orleans, and then they saddled up and started trudging east down Liberty Road. It kind of reminded me of a group of soldiers or Marines. They had that same sort of I-am-so-fucking-tired-I-could-fall-asleep-right-here look. I noticed that when we were talking the men always kept themselves between me and the girl. It sort of amused me (I'm no threat) , but it was tactically sound. When they decided they wanted to talk to me, everybody grounded their gear, and they sent one guy over to talk. Once it was clear that I was okay, the rest came over. What they really needed was a shower, a meal, and a decent night's sleep. Trainhopping ain't for the faint of heart, I guess.