South from Canada on I-5 in Dec

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duanecatman

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May 1, 2011
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My wife and I plan on heading South on I-5 from Vancouver British Columbia in our MH right after Christmas [heading to Desert Hot Springs CA for the Winter].
I note that there appear to be a few passes between southern Oregon and northern California -- is this a potential problem area at that time of the year or should we head right to the coast and go south on #101??
Any advise would be greatly appreciated -- Thanks
 
We did that two years ago and had no issues with road conditions. The only pass you would need to be concerned with is Siskayou at the OR/CA border, keep an eye on weather reports. Grapevine is usually ok but again keep informed on road conditions. 101 can be nasty in winter with wind and rain.
 
Thank you
I assume that the weather issues would be snow related ones and that as a result of I-5 being a major North / South interstate they would attend to it ASAP ?
If that's the case then merely dropping the anchor for a few hrs or a day or 2 ,at most, should avoid any unpleasantness ?
 
duanecatman said:
Thank you
I assume that the weather issues would be snow related ones and that as a result of I-5 being a major North / South interstate they would attend to it ASAP ?
If that's the case then merely dropping the anchor for a few hrs or a day or 2 ,at most, should avoid any unpleasantness ?

You will hit just two significant passes on I-5, Syskiou at the OR/CA state line and the Grapevine south of Bakersfield, CA.  Both can be affected by winter storms, but rarely close and then for maybe day or two.  Both have good stayover spots for south bound travellers in Medford and Ashland OR, and around Bakersfield, CA.

US 101 is not a good option unless the San Joaquin Valley is affected by tule fogs.  From  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tule_fog :

"Tule fog  is a thick ground fog that settles in the San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento Valley areas of California's Great Central Valley. Tule fog forms during the late fall and winter (California's rainy season) after the first significant rainfall. The official time frame for tule fog to form is from November 1 to March 31. This phenomenon is named after the tule grass wetlands (tulares) of the Central Valley. Accidents caused by the tule fog are the leading cause of weather-related casualties in California. "  [emphasis mine]

Avoid driving in them, especially on I-5 and CA-99.  South of the SF Bay area switch over to US101 if tule fogs are reported along I-5. 
 
 

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