On a dusty stretch of track outside Colton, Calif., a railroad bull confronted three rumpled men about to hop a stalled desert-bound freight. "Turn around," ordered the policeman, resting one hand menacingy on his gun. Frisking the hoboes, the lawman squinted in disbelief: their driver's licenses bore upscale California addresses in West Los Angeles, Marin County and Palm Springs. "Beverly Glen Boulevard?" the policeman demanded of one robust tramp wearing suspenders and carrying a Swiss army knife. "What is this?"
Welcome to the eccentric world of recreational hoboing. The tramp from Beverly Glen is Actor Bobb Hopkins, 39, founder of the...