There are huge swaths of land in most state in which you would not see another human for months or years if you were camping. Given modern highways, all of this land is accessible via hitchhiking (yes it is still very possible to hitch a ride if you're determined).

Again, that's a good way to get put in prison. National parks have rangers and most landowners will be able to figure out when someone's using their land. Sure, you could probably get away with it for a time, but it's hardly a realistic answer.

Not to mention getting food - how exactly do you propose they do that without getting done for poaching or being immediately obvious in a helicopter sweep?

It's just not realistic; it's fantasy that does not work in the modern age.

There is a reason they gravitate to the center of population: they rely on society to survive. Without society, they have no food, clothing, etc.

Absolutely. They also are in a situation where they have no other choice. It has been made illegal to live any other way. The state provides few, if any, alternatives. What else do you expect them to do?

And hitching is hardly realistic if you look and smell like a homeless person, not to mention it, too, is largely illegal.

Are you suggesting that if homeless simply had free land they would go farm and be self sufficient? Say that idea out loud and think about it hard.

You were the one who said they should just go live on some mythical huge swathes of empty land. I was pointing out that it's an unrealistic proposition for many reasons. I never said I expected the homeless to just go start farming.

I agree. But the problem is not a lack of land. A homeless person is not going to craft a cabin and painstakingly plant crops for a balanced diet. Are you really arguing that lack of land is what keeps them from doing this?

Where have I argued anything remotely like that? I was arguing precisely for why that's unrealistic.

The homeless gravitate towards city centers because there are no other realistic survival options. That's what my argument was in response to you asking why the homeless gravitate towards city centers. Everything else is you reading into something that is not there.