The Monthly — Shopping Around June 2010 :: The Path Less Traveled | From pans to packs, local camping stores have what you need to sleep under the stars.

From pans to packs, local camping stores have what you need to sleep under the stars.

I went camping for the first time two years ago with three friends in Lassen Volcanic National Park near Redding. We intended to enjoy a weekend roughing it in the wilderness, but the trip didn’t go as smoothly as planned.

It took hours before we managed to get a fire roaring—a recent rain had left all the wood in the area soggy and wet. And when we finally gathered around to cook dinner, we realized we had brought plenty of marshmallows, but nothing else.

Exhausted and hungry, we climbed into our sleeping bags to spend a restless night on the hard, bumpy ground. The next morning, the whole group awoke stiff and sore. Agreeing that one night was enough, we packed our completely inadequate gear and drove straight home.

It was only later, discussing the fiasco with a camping enthusiast friend, that I realized our big mistake. “You did bring camping pads with you, right?” my friend asked.

Unbeknownst to us fledgling outdoorsmen, sleeping bags offer absolutely no cushioning against the ground; for that, you need a foam or inflatable mat or pad that goes under your sleeping bag. Who knew?

Tent time

If only we’d visited one of the many East Bay camping stores before we left, then maybe we wouldn’t have gone home with lumbago. The combination of shrinking paychecks and the Bay Area’s good weather makes camping one of the cheapest and easiest ways for locals to take a vacation. And from high-end chains to one-of-a-kind second-hand shops, there’s no shortage of venues that stock everything from tents and flashlights to freeze-dried dinners and thermal handwarmers. Most staff members are avid campers themselves, well-equipped and eager to answer questions from novices.

Easy idyll: Tenderfeet and seasoned campers alike enjoy spending the night under the stars at Angel Island State Park—just a ferry ride away from most East Bay locales. Photo by Noa Younse.

These shops carry sleeping bags and backpacks, butane cook stoves and cast-iron skillets, feather down jackets and nature guidebooks. Marmot Mountain Works on Adeline Street in Berkeley specializes in mountaineering and ice-climbing equipment (and is well known for its rock shoe resoling service), while Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) on San Pablo Avenue has everything you need for outdoor sports, plus a huge showroom full of mountain bikes, canoes, and other equipment. REI also holds classes to help greenhorns prepare for their adventures; events include “Footwear for All Occasions” and “Mt. Shasta: Tips for Beginners.”

Any Mountain is housed in an enormous yellow building on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley; inside, the high ceiling gives it the feel of a cathedral, but the wood floors and boulders in the atrium keep a rustic edge. The store carries a wide variety of hunting knives, sleeping bags, hiking boots, and warm apparel, but specializes in outdoor sports equipment like skis and snow boards. This emporium also gives discounts to customers who trade in their old camping gear for new.

Sales manager Jeremy Engleman, 34, has been an avid camper since he was a child growing up in San Diego. For a pleasant experience, Engleman recommends bringing the basic necessities: a tent, sleeping bags and pads, a small butane cookstove, some cast-iron pots and pans for cooking, a cooler to hold your food, a folding chair (you won’t find most naturally occurring seats very comfortable!), and maybe a good book to enjoy as you unwind.

Nice for newbies: Offering unparalleled East Bay views, close-by Mount Diablo State Park provides a perfect first tent experience for greenhorns. Photo by Photomick.

If you’re making a long haul before you set up your tent, though, you’ll need to pack light. Heavy pots and pans are out, and don’t expect to lug a cooler behind you when you’re scrabbling up mountain trails. Engleman recommends dehydrated snacks, which offer as many calories as regular food, but weigh practically nothing. With a cheap Ronco dehydrator, you can turn chili into jerky and apples into fruit roll-ups. Many local stores, including Wilderness Exchange, also carry a variety of pre-made meals perfect for easy transport and quick energy, like vacuum-packed rice and pinto beans, bulgur wheat, or goulash.

For hiking, you’ll need a backpack to carry your supplies and a pair of sturdy boots for trudging over rough terrain. Sunglasses and a sun hat are non-negotiable gear for high altitude trips; above 8,000 feet, ultraviolet light quadruples.

A lightweight stove is also a wise investment, just in case wet wood or wind make it hard to start a campfire. Most camping outlets carry small butane canister-powered stoves that fit easily into a knapsack.

For more information, the REI website hosts articles and practical tips for beginners, as well as video instructions for how to use a GPS receiver, adjust a backpack’s fit, and transport a boat by car.

And by the way, if you happen to space on bringing bug spray or the latest Scott Turow, it’s not the end of the world. While it wouldn’t be wise to forget drinking water or a first aid kit, most California campsites have a nearby store where you can buy minor necessities that you might have forgotten to pack.

Whew, that view

People often think of Yosemite or Big Sur when they imagine the perfect California campsite, but there are plenty of spots right in the East Bay to get away from urban hustle and bustle. Many first-time campers have cut their teeth on campgrounds at Anthony Chabot, Del Valle, and Sunol regional parks. These sites are all perfect for car camping, meaning that you can drive right in and set up your tent within 20 to 30 feet of the road—no heavy hauling required.

The elements that make for a perfect outdoor experience—be it a challenging climb up a steep peak, or a weekend spent sitting in a collapsible chair in front of your tent—vary from person to person. “Some people want to be near a lake or a campsite,” says Engleman. “Some people like to be able to go on a long walk and never see another human.”

One thing’s for sure, though—pleasing scenery is a must. “The views from the summit of Mount Diablo are really stunning,” notes Oakland outdoorsman Sean Senti, 29, who encourages new campers to try an overnight at Mount Diablo State Park. With three drive-in campgrounds catering to families and five geared to groups, some of which include shower facilities, the easy-to-access park is known for scenic trails that slope gently along the side of the mountain. Senti, who works as the marketing director for the private California Parks Company, which manages campgrounds, marinas, and resort services for state and regional parks (but not Mount Diablo), also likes the park’s “Rock City” region—a huge sandstone formation honeycombed by wind caves.

“If you can be flexible, the best time to go [to Mount Diablo State Park] is midweek, so you can avoid the crowds,” he says. Reservations are recommended but not necessary.

As a second trip for camping virgins, Senti recommends an overnight excursion to Angel Island State Park. “You have to take a ferry out there,” he says, “but then you practically have the whole island to yourself. Some people don’t like the idea that they’re theoretically stuck there until morning after the ferry leaves, but there are rangers on the island and a water taxi if there’s an emergency.”

Some campsites require advance reservations and many charge fees ranging from $3 to $25 per night; more detailed information can be found on parks’ individual websites.

Although much of the East Bay has been built up, isolated wilderness outposts still exist in the midst of the city. Justin Laue, 26, from Berkeley, laments that few people realize that there are beautiful wilderness areas in their own backyard. A program coordinator with the Student Conservation Association in Oakland, a nonprofit organization that works to reconnect urban high school students with the wild, Laue is doing what he can to remedy the situation. The 100 students who participate in the program restore area parks by building new hiking trails, planting trees, and pulling out invasive plant species. And, Laue says, the association sponsors regular camping trips for student volunteers from urban schools in Oakland and Berkeley to places like Mount Diablo State Park and Morgan Territory Regional Preserve.

“Kids are incredulous to think that they can see natural scenery like this so close to home,” says Laue. “It really reinforces how great it is to live in the Bay Area. Many of these kids didn’t realize they could do this without having to go to Yosemite or Yellowstone.”

Close calls

Being prepared is the most important part of entering the wilderness. It’s fine to be a lackadaisical packer when car camping, but you’ll want to double-check your supplies carefully before you tackle the deep woods. “The worst stories happen from drastically underpacking,” says Senti. “I went camping in Bear Canyon in southern California thinking it would be warm because it was 75 degrees in Los Angeles. But I didn’t stop to think that it would be quite a bit cooler under the tree cover.” No devastating disasters ensued, but a shivering Senti didn’t have quite the comfortable, relaxing trip he anticipated. “That’s why now I’m always sure to pack warm clothing,” he says.

Jim Omelia, who manages Berkeley’s Wilderness Exchange on San Pablo, seconds the motion to plan ahead. A seasoned hiker and former assistant scout master, Omelia is right at home in this cozy maze of rooms with a distinct outdoorsy theme, where pickaxes and lederhosen are mounted on the walls, rappelling ropes crisscross the ceiling, and even the footstools in the shoe section are chunks of petrified wood. Wilderness Exchange focuses on the backpacking experience, offering sleeping bags, cookstoves, and tents, most of which are already set up on the sales floor for customers to inspect, and a video rental library featuring training films and National Geographic nature documentaries.

Last year, Omelia, 60, led a small group of friends—some experienced hikers, some first-timers—on a backpacking trip up to Castle Peak in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Their destination, a Sierra Club cabin, was only three miles from the parking lot, but they were suddenly enveloped in a blizzard so thick that it took them four hours to slog through the storm.

The weather during their trek back the next day was hardly any better. As they fought their way down the mountain, Omelia noticed that one of his party had fallen behind, and was now sitting in the snow and attempting to remove his shirt. “The baseline is wet,” he muttered, incomprehensibly, when Omelia doubled back to check on him.

Omelia knew immediately that his friend was a victim of the “umbles”—backpackers’ slang for the first stage of hypothermia because it causes its victims to “stumble, mumble, and fumble.” Luckily, Omelia had come prepared. He quickly wrapped his friend in a dry shirt to stave off the cold; now warm again, the umbler made a fast recovery.

“It was really an epic trip,” says Omelia. “It was the sort of thing where the people who weren’t experienced hikers went home thinking, ‘Well, that was fun!’ but the rest of us left thinking, ‘That was really a lot to chew!’ Even when you do a simple overnight trip, these things can surprise you.”

The milder weather of the East Bay means that local excursions are less likely to turn dangerous. But they can still be plenty exciting.

“The best part about camping is seeing something you’ve never seen before,” says Engleman. “Whether it’s the biggest trout you’ve ever seen or a naked woman floating down the river in a tube, you never know what you’re going to see.”

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Mike Rosen-Molina is an East Bay writer and frequent contributor to The Monthly. His work has also appeared in the East Bay Express, Sacramento News and Review, and PBS Mediashift. He blogs at mikerosenmolina.com.

Pick a Park

Mount Diablo State Park. The park offers hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping. Easily accessible trails lead to sites like Rock City, Sentinel Rock, and Fossil Ridge. A museum with exhibits on the mountain’s history and wildlife is open daily from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. For info: (925) 837-2525 or parks.ca.gov.

Angel Island State Park. Access is by public ferry from San Francisco, Tiburon, Oakland, and Alameda. Travel after sunset is restricted in some areas for safety. The Angel Island Company operates Segway tours for $65 per person. The island also hosts a cafe and vending kiosk. For info and reservations: (415) 897-0715 or angelisland.com.

Anthony Chabot Regional Park. Year-round camping is available in a eucalyptus grove overlooking Lake Chabot. The park offers spacious sites, disabled accessible sites and facilities, RV hookup sites, hot showers, and lawn areas. Campsites include picnic tables and fire ring/barbecues. For info or reservations: (510) 639-4751 or ebparks.org/parks/anthony_chabot.

Del Valle Regional Park. This park has a campground with drive-in campsites, some with connections for sewer and water. All sites have picnic tables and fire ring/barbecues. Restrooms with flush toilets and warm-water showers are located around the campground. The park includes a five-mile-long lake with year-round boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, biking, and bird-watching, and is the eastern entry for backpacking in the Ohlone Regional Wilderness. For info or reservations: (925) 373-0332 or ebparks.org/parks/del_valle.

Sunol Regional Park. This park includes the valley and hills around Alameda Creek. With miles of hiking trails, it’s also one of the entry points for back-packing trips into the Ohlone Wilderness. The family campground has walk-in campsites with chemical toilets located near the parking lot. No concessions are available. For info: (510) 544-3246 or ebparks.org/parks/sunol.

Get in Gear

Bonanza, 3617 International Blvd., Oakland, (510) 534-3030.
Doms Outdoor Outfitters, 1870 1st St., Livermore, (925) 447-9629; domsoutdoor.com.
Marmot Mountain Works, 3049 Adeline St., Berkeley, (510) 849-0735; marmotmountain.com.
Mountain Hardwear,1414 Harbour Way South, Ford Point, Ste. 1005, Richmond, (510) 558-3000; mountainhardwear.com.
North Face, 1238 5th St., Berkeley, (510) 526-3530; 14450 Doolittle Drive, San Leandro, (866) 715-3223; thenorthface.com.
REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley, (510) 527-4140; rei.com.
Royal Robbins, 841 Gilman St., Berkeley, (510) 527-1961; royalrobbins.com.
Surplus Center of Berkeley, 1640 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley, (510) 524-8434; berkeleysurplus.com.
Wilderness Exchange, 1407 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley, (510) 525-1255.