. . . HAM isn't cheap. A good setup will be 700-1000 bucks.
You don't need to spend that much to get started in Ham radio. With a little Internet price shopping the price of admission can be as low as $100. (The test is $15; you can buy a chinese Baofeng (pronounced bo-fung) 2m/70cm HT on Amazon for about $45; an MFJ mag mount antenna with adaptor for the Baofeng is about $37.) From there, you can spend as much as you like/have.
Please keep in mind that a Ham radio is not a CB on steroids. Hams are serious about their hobby and protective of their band privileges, hence little tolerance for FCC rule breaking and the nonsense that pollutes the CB frequencies. However, the rules are easy to follow and are no impediment to effective use of the 2m and 70cm frequencies in the backcountry.
I've had my Ham license for nearly 12 years, and although I have never progressed much beyond "appliance operator" (the mildly derisive term used by Hams to describe those of us who aren't into electronics and radio theory and use our Ham radios only for trail and road trip communications), I have nothing but respect for those serious about the hobby.
My take on the "CB or Ham or both" issue is this: CB is still the most common mode of radio communication in the offroad world, and required on most organized runs and club events, hence the first radio I would buy despite its shortcomings. An inexpensive entry-level 2m Ham radio is more than enough for 99% of us and a good addition to one's communications gear
if one regularly ventures offroad with other Hams and is willing to follow FCC rules and amateur radio protocol.
I'm getting into HAM pretty quickly, simply because I want my rig functional for SHTF non-mainstream comms...and HAM has much better range than most anything else if you have the proper antennas....