Roadtrip Camping

>there's only so much my shotgun can do if someone gets the drop on me
Life is not usually a video game or a movie
You should be fine
I think this trip is going to be good for you

>>985108
Thanks, I hope it goes as well as I'm planning.

>>985120
Are you going by yourself?

Talk to people in your campground, usually you can make friends easily like that. Don't worry about getting places fast, take back roads and stop often. Everyone is frightened when they first camp alone, but you're safe. Bring a good book or three. I'd recommend dharma bums and any book by McPhee. Keep a journal. You can camp anywhere that's green on the map for free, particularly in national forests or grass lands or random roads. If someone comes up to you in a situation like that be honest and say you thought it was public land. They might offer you a place anyway if you're honest and kind. Go hiking. Skip Joshua Tree there's no camping, its full.

>>985136
Had a buddy that was supposed to come with me, but he actually told me earlier tonight he had to bail due to financial reasons.

>>985140
I was planning on doing mostly roadside camping on the way there, and do more camping in national parks on the way back through. I know I'm not the first one to get nervous about it, but I guess I can't help it. At least I'm getting the whole "camping alone is scary" thing out of the way relatively soon, It's something I'd like to do a lot more of.

>>984869
I'm Canadian but I've been to a few places in the western US. I'd probably do an up across the northern states and into washington then down to california then an across arizona to colorado and back route to see the most. There's so many terrains and ecosystems that way. I really don't think a shotgun is necessary but if you're random camping in mountain areas alone, it's a nice insurance policy. I think the danger with people is that you escalate situations when you pull out a shotgun. I can say that yellowstone is a complete tourist clusterfuck but it's still an interesting place to see. I'd like to see the redwood forests in cali. northern west coast rain forests piss rain often so make sure your tent or whatever is well waterproofed. In summer it might not be that bad but still. The mountains can get below freezing and snow even in summer...not often but it can happen. I'd also have money set aside for car repairs and have a car checkup before you leave. Also bring along coolant, oil, one of those tire sealer spray things, and a small air pump.

>>985149
I'm kinda doing the reverse route of that, so I'll still be seeing everything, so thats no issue. I just feel better with the shotgun as well, not sure if its just the american in me, but it just provides that security nothing else really would. I also plan on grabbing some bear mace for a less than lethal option. Might skip Yellowstone, but I'm for sure gonna check out the redwoods and all that. I also have been putting some more modern accommodations in my truck and have taken it to a few mechanics, they said it should make the trip no problem (2001 Ford Explorer Sport Track if you're wondering). I also plan on bringing all that stuff along with 10 gallons of gas, so I should be fine in terms of auto emergencies.

>>985142
>"camping alone is scary" thing
It is kind of scary but honestly it's more lonely than anything. The anon who suggested bringing some books I think understood this aspect of it. Any little noise at night is scary but after a few nights you kind of accept the fact that a lot of small animals move around at night and even bigger noises are probably just deer. The first night I camped alone I had wolves less than 50 m from camp howling all night and the area was remote. But they didn't do anything but howl. Also I've seen medium sized cat tracks coming back to one camp but there are just lynx in the area and they aren't likely to take me out. The ones I worry about are bears who you will know by the massive steps and grunts and cougars who don't seem to be the types to bust into a tents but ambush you. If you hear a sound like a woman screaming that's a cougar in heat and you better be cautious. I always take a good piss near my tent and get a lot of camp smoke smell on me to discourage nightly visitors. Also try not to leave food out.

>>984869
Be very knowledgeable about firearm laws wherever you go. Having a shotgun ready to go is not going to be legal in all states. In california especially you're going to have to lock it and it's ammo in different areas of the car legally speaking, and the cops there may try to fuck with you even then.

Realistically a shotgun would be a terrible choice for this kind of thing. You'll never have the time to get to it if you need it and most of the time it's just gonna freak people out. If you're going to bring a gun of any sort a handgun would be way more suited, and even then you're probably not going to need it unless you're going along the southern border of the USA and want to be really stupid about where you camp. Again, know your laws. You have a good chance of getting pulled over at some point as a lot of places out west love to pick on out of towners for random stops. I remember one road trip in Montana the car I was in got pulled over by a cop because the driver "didn't turn her high beams off in town". Cop proceeded to hold us up for half an hour, I guess because he was convinced there was no possible way we weren't packing drugs in the car.

Best advice I can give is plan your route and know all the good places to camp before you ever set out. The worst trips I ever had were when I tagged along with people who said "it'll be fine, we'll find a spot when we get there" and act like there was any fucking chance of finding a spot in Yosemite during summer without a reservation. Also, stock up on food before you leave. Getting food on the go will murder your budget like nothing else. I've been in places where a single 10oz can of chef boy ardee was over $3, and you didn't have a choice because the next place with food was an hour down the road.

>>985156
As for cool places to go, Utah is high on my list, it's just absolutely gorgeous and you can't really go wrong with it, Bryce Canyon and Mount Zion especially are great parks. If you find yourself in Wyoming for whatever reason, Fossil Beaut was pretty cool but only if you're into fossils. I also liked Great Basin, the caving tour in particular was awesome.

The obvious ones are of course Glacier National Park in Montana, pretty much anything in California (although holy shit everything there is expensive, stock up before you get there, whatever it takes) and Colorado has its share of beauty as well. Honestly you could spend months out there and never even scratch the surface.

I would heavily recommend avoiding driving through Kansas at all fucking costs. It has tried to kill me every time I've driven down that god forsaken I 70 and if I never see it again it'll be too goddamn soon. Protip, if you see a double rainbow buckle in, you're in for a fun day (storms).

>>985154
on road trips most of my problems have been due to heat f-ing with the vehicle and flat tires. Having one of those water containers in a 5 gallon+ size is probably a good idea in case of breakdowns or overheating. Both for the vehicle and for you to drink. I worked in Arizona once in late summer and for sure water is something you want on hand in good quantities. When you head through the rockies fill up on that glacier fresh water. I tell you it's like nothing you'll have had before. Oh and for the deserts there are a lot of scorpions, rattle snakes, and even tarantulas so pay attention where you step and try to keep stuff out of your boots.

>>984869
Stop watching so many horror movies and you'll be just fine.

>>985155
The whole "camping alone is scary" thing is just a mindset I know I'll get over, but it's still somewhat intimidating I must admit. I'm not too worried about the camping aspect, since I've always been fairly /out/, so I'm not super worried in those aspects.

>>985156
I do agree, a handgun would be much handier, the law in Ohio states you have to be 21 to own a handgun. Now of course I could get one through private sale, but almost everyone I've tried bails as soon as they find out I'm 18. Also, I'd have to worry about if the handgun is on cali's (((approved))) list, and I figure a 5+1 pump shotgun is legal just about everywhere. I did think about stocking up on food, but I'm not sure about what kind of food. I was planning on making up some trail mix, dehydrated fruit, and some jerky, and hoping that would be fine, but let me know if you have some suggestions.

>>985158
I might have to miss Utah since I'll be going up the coastline in California, but I'll keep that in mind for another trip. I will be in Wyoming and Montana though, so I'll look into those spots, and I'll keep that in mind about Kansas.

>>985159
I was planning on bringing 2 24 packs of bottled water for at least until I get to california, so I think I have water covered, and I'll keep that in mind about the glacier water. I also know how the desert can get, so I'll keep an eye out for all that as well, thanks for the heads up.

OP here, thanks for the help guys. It's like 3 am here and I got class tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep. If anyone has any other suggestions I'll check back in the morning.