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craggergirl
Aug 24, 2004, 12:07 AM
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I've been climbing for about 6 months and recently I got the idea that I'd like to go out west and climb. I'd like to be able to camp out for about a month or so and climb and not work. Naturally i'll have to have some money and basically I'd like to know what types of food are best to eat in that kind of situation and about how much money I should realisticly expect to be spending in a months time. If anyone has any advice on planning a trip like this please let me know. I'm new to camping and new to climbing so any advice is welcome.
-lesley
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joe
Aug 24, 2004, 12:36 AM
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dashboard burritos are my roadtrip food of choice.
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petsfed
Aug 24, 2004, 12:48 AM
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Have you ever had to stretch $20 two months because of some rent or payroll screwup? Same idea.
Tuna, top ramen, powder mac and cheese. Get creative. Ketchup soup is cheap (free) and easy. Hot sauce (like taco bell hot sauce) and tuna tastes great. Soy sauce and tuna does not taste good. Instant rice in mass quantities. Potatoes. Chicken when you can get it. Hot dogs. Goldfish crackers. Tortillas last better than regular bread. Canned veggies will provide necessary vitamins. Look for good bagel shops in the local towns, then rifle through the nearby dumpsters. They double bag the day's bagels to keep the rats out. Its a cheap meal for you.
Do not delude yourself into thinking that a month long road trip will be AT ALL glamorous.
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petsfed
Aug 24, 2004, 12:59 AM
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What will really kill you is GAS. Especially with current petrol prices. Expect to set aside about $700 for gas. And maybe $200 for food. That's almost certainly more than you need, but its better to have a safety net. Expect to refuel every 200 miles or so (in someplaces that means you hit virtually every single town) or carry a spare gas tank. Have a high mileage car, or else you won't be able to hit too many places. We usually took a 30 mpg taurus and we'd refuel about every 3 hours just to be on the safe side. 10 gallons a pop, with gas about $2 a gallon, that makes it $20 for every 3 hours of driving. Unless you plan to hit only 2 or 3 locations during your journey, expect about a week (in total) of driving. That is, 5 twelve hour days of driving. To be sure, most of your drives will be of the 3-6 hour hops, but still.
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kachoong
Aug 24, 2004, 1:30 AM
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In reply to: Goldfish crackers
...that sold me!... I'm in....
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tallnik
Aug 25, 2004, 10:43 AM
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$50 a week just for food, damn... you could live well of that kindof money. My budget for groceries (inc. TP, etc) is normally $50 a week. To get the best bang for your buck try hitting up Bulk food stores for things like lentils. Local farmer's markets can sometimes be cheaper than supermarkes for veg. As well, if you go after the markets close, for some dumpster diving, you might get fruit/veg that's still good, but not good enough to stock the shelves.
Talk to the bakers/workers at bakeries/bagel places/Tim Hortons/etc and let them know what you're doing and see if they would be willing to toss you the throwaways, thereby saving you the effort of fighting the rats and digging through the garbage.
lentil soup with ketchup and pepper is filling and tasty throw in some sausages if you want/ can afford it. I also recommend pitas and peanut butter. You can make great pita pizzas over a fire with an old frying pan and a cover of some kind. Make the pita pizza or calzone, oil the pita base a bit, toss it in the pan, add some water around the sides of the pita/pan and throw on the lid, as the water evaporates, it creates a "Steam-oven effect"
If you can get your hands on a diesel, do it. The amount you'll save on gas is mindblowing. If you can get a station wagon or van/pickup, think about kitting it out so you can sleep in the car.
And take ductape no matter what.
Good luck
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dontfall
Aug 25, 2004, 12:10 PM
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dontfall moved this thread from Beginners to General.
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tradbum
Aug 29, 2004, 12:39 AM
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As was mentioned, duct tape (always a must); a diesel if you can; you can sleep under your truck, or in it (depending on the weather, and if you're just too damn tired to set up camp).
All of the above foods are great. If you can, mooch off of someone who has a Costco or Sam's membership and go for it. Don't go anywhere near REI, EMS or your other "outdoor" shops for Dehy food! 2 $0.49 bags of Lipton's Rice or Noodles and whatever will feed two big boys and it's easy to make. (Chicken Alfredo is pretty good). And they're light and are full of carbs! Beats the hell outta' Ramen and it costs the same or less!
Garlic brings life to anything.
Coffee cannot be forgotten!
If you have a gas stove you can use regular gas (in that gas can that's NOT stored in your car/truck or otherwise anywhere near your gear!) It's a helluva lot cheaper than white gas or other fuels. Just make sure that you're careful with it; fumes notwithstanding, more than one person has turned themselves into a flaming nylon burrito by cooking in their tents.
Make some goldbricks if you can; they're a lot cheaper than "powerbars" and taste a helluva lot better. And the binder (molasses) is really cheap.
Oatmeal. (YUCK, but it's good for you and it's cheap!)
KFC bathrooms are NAAAASTY, but they usually have those handy wipe things that can make for a good clean-up, and the dolts who work there generally don't give a crap if you grab a handful (of those and sauce) and split.
Found: used to be that many farmers & ranchers would swap a few days feed/place to stay in exchange for some help, especially during haying. Although that's kind of gone by the wayside (like hitch-hiking), it's still possible depending on where you're headed. (In that business, room and board is called being "found", as in $50/week, "fully found").
Remote acquaintences: I for one will let almost any dirtbag climber crash in my guesthouse (duration is limited). I would imagine that many folks here have an open couch after about 11PM and would be willing to cough it up for a fellow bum. With that in mind, post an intended trip route and see if anyone bites.
And listen to what your Mom said (unless you're in Crested Butte) don't pick up hitch-hikers and make sure you have clean underwear! (Unless you eschew that on long trips :) )
Holler at me if you want to hit Taquitz or Joshua Tree; the wife and I have room in the guest house.
Drive safe, climb safe and good luck! Road trips are the stuff that life is made of! :D
Smitty
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topher
Aug 29, 2004, 12:58 AM
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if your camping you dont need that much cash... i lived in the hostel in squamish for about a month that was 300bucks but then i help out in the evs and such so they gave me 200 back and that payed for most of my food so pluse i bought a few things and what not any way i spent like maybe 300 bucks total... and i could have spent much less... all depends on how you want to live
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cryder
Aug 29, 2004, 2:02 AM
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Have you thought about actually cutting the cord altogether and just moving? By making the preperations to climb for a month, you will likely have to cut some strings, do some serious planning/packing, plus saving... all for just a month on the road.
Its just a thought, but you might consider going for a slightly longer stint and getting a little more bang for your bucks. I used to dabble with back and forth trips to Europe with my Cycling career, and finally just decided to move there. I enjoyed myself a lot more, and it was a bit easier to survive with the longer term plans and just settle into life in Europe. Never did get used to the water though.
Sounds like fun.
- n -
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scott_davidson
Aug 29, 2004, 4:08 AM
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Thats a great thing to do Lesley! I did the same thing after about 6 months of climbing. Being a dirtbag climber is so fun and you can get so good fast. Especially if you go to the right place. Spending the winter in Jtree i think is perfect for an aspiring climber and you can live there practically free. Especially if you dont drive to town, although it is tempting on those long winter nights. Not having a rack is no excuse, you will hook up with great people so easily to climb with every day. There are tons of great climbing spots that i am sure are just as accomodating, thats just one that worked for me and taught me to climb. If you are determined you can get by on 100 a month, of course this means dont drive much. Yosemite is just as easy to live cheap, and easier to not drive anywhere in my experience. Good luck, its such a great way to spend your time and make friends from all over the world. Scott
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redbullclimbing
Aug 29, 2004, 11:13 PM
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I know that gas prices are insane but be careful when you are goin to national parks, I went to yosemite for the first time this summer with my family and i swear to god my dad had heart failure when we had 1/8 of a gallon left and gas prices right outside the park were 3 bucks a gallon, so before you get near to natoinal parks fill up on the cheapest gas you can find.
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cpaclimber
Aug 29, 2004, 11:52 PM
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In reply to: And listen to what your Mom said (unless you're in Crested Butte) don't pick up hitch-hikers Smitty
Yeah CB
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