PHOENIX - SAN FRANCISCO via PORTLAND, APRIL/MAY 09.

[johnnylove]

hello.
will a tent get much use on the above trip ? planning to go from phoenix - williams - page - st george - beatty - lone pine - reno - portland - rockaway beach - yachats - port orford - mendocino - SanFrancisco. im guessing that acccommodations get pretty pricey close to SF, so tent may be useful to save cash. will the weather permit this ?
thanks.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA forum!

Certainly a tent could be a nice way to save money for much of your trip. Finding sites throughout most of your trip shouldn't be too hard, although you should know that in April and May it will still be quite cool (especialy overnight) in many areas of your trip, so you'll want to make sure that all of your gear is suitable for the conditions.

I haven't looked into camping near San Francisco myself, but camping close to urban areas can be a little tough, as there often aren't many sites and/or what is available can be quite a long drive to the city. There are a few state parks in the Bay area that do allow camping, but you'll have to see how well any of them would work for you. If you are traveling solo or with one other person, you might also look into hosteling for your time within the city.

[johnnylove]

thanks michael. there's two of us, we've made a road trip thru the west before so kinda know what to expect terrain, road, motel wise, but havent camped. we're coming from the UK so will be restricted on the gear we can bring. not sure if we got room for sleeping bags or cooking gear. how much would it set us back to purchase the basics when we get there ?

[Midwest Michael]

Well, camping gear doesn't have to cost that much, but because of the seasons, I think you'll have to buy at least slightly higher end stuff. You can get a tent for $50, and cheap sleeping bags for around $20. However, to get 3 or 4 season sleeping bags, you're probably going to be looking at $50-75. You'll also want to spend $10-20 for a cheap foam sleeping pad or a little more for an air mattress to get you off the cold ground. Cooking gear shouldn't cost too much, but the specifics will depend upon how you want to go about it. I've done things as simple as buying a $20 tabletop gas grill and using that for all cooking, but usually I bring a couple of cast iron pans that I can use directly over a campfire.

I'd suggest looking around at internet sporting goods stores and shop around a bit to get an idea of how much things cost. $100 is a rough estimate for getting cheap supplies but I think you may end up spending closer to $200 to account for colder weather gear.