It was anticipated that there was going to be a significant storm that was going to hit California. What a great opportunity to take advantage of the snow! It's not everyday that there's a big storm in Southern California. There was a storm system on Friday but I couldn't get up into the mountains in time. Driving up in the mountains at night is even more challenging than during the day because of that dreaded fog, which seems to get thicker at night! This past Friday I checked on the traffic conditions later that night and it seemed that during the time in which there was heavy snow people were getting stuck and sliding everywhere.
I had planned the trip on President's Day. Monday morning came along and I left to Big Bear Lake. Just like last time I saw several cars spun out on the different freeways as well as some other accidents. I guess some people just don't get that they need to slow down when it's raining. Through most of my drive to highway 18, it was raining heavily on my route and then I remembered that I should have replaced the windshield wipers. I finally got to highway 18 and the chain control checkpoint was at the 4,000 ft level, the same as it was the day I went up on December 15. I helped my friend put on the chains on his car. Vehicles with 4WD and snow tires on all four wheels just had to carry chains and they checked that I had them with me. I didn't want to bother putting them on at the moment, but I changed my mind later.
We proceeded up the highway past Crestline, notice the slushy accumulation:
I tried to drive in between the tracks, but sometimes it was hard to follow them and when I had to ride on top of the slush, it made the car feel slightly unstable.
I've been up here about two times after my initial trip, but this thick snow fog forces me to turn back, but it was a little better today. Some fog lights at night would be useful in this area.
Along the way before we got to Big Bear Dam, there traffic came to a halt as a vehicle had been in a head-on collision. Meanwhile we were waiting for the situation to come under control I decided to put on the chains, for the extra security.
Once we got to the point where the 18 and the 38 split. At the time, the wind and snow were blowing quite hard. My friend got his car stuck when he tried pulling over, and from the last experience I bought a shovel and it came in handy. We dug it out a bit and after some pushing, we were on our way again. Ahead on highway 18, the CHP was turning back cars, and we later found out that they had closed a long stretch of highway - from highway 330 to Big Bear Dam. We were lucky we just made in time, but the conditions were deteriorating rapidly (and I'll admit I liked every minute of it, for the sake of adventure).
Fast food chains tend to make great places to sit down and enjoy the view and the falling snow. What a great reminder of winter...
Putting on the chains is a pain, and these are even more so, they are hard to get on tight. I took them off and put them on again, and this time they went on correctly.
Since highway 18 was now closed, there were really only two ways to get out of Big Bear - back down through Lucerne Valley or through highway 38. Highway 38 is a longer ride, but does offer some nice views of the San Bernardino National Forest (well, not on this particular day). We took highway 38 on the way back down. On my way to the 38, I did see an '85-'86 Tercel 4WD wagon, a deluxe model, and I got all excited when I saw it as I had not seen one in my previous trip. I wished I had more time to have stayed longer up there, but my time was limited.
The highest point on highway 38 is Onyx Summit at 8443 ft elevation, needless to say at this elevation the Tercel feels like it has lost 1/4th of its power with it tuned at sea level, okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it does lose some power. With four people in the car, I did notice a change from last time when there were only two passengers.
The pine trees here are much taller...
As I was going down the highway I saw several people stuck, mostly in parking lots. There was one car that had veered off the road and I really wanted to stop and help them, but again, I had limited time. There was another van full of kids on the side of the road, they were slowly digging it out. Perhaps most spectacular of all was a Honda CRV that spun around twice. My friend saw it and I just missed it as it happened, I was coming around a corner. I did get to see that even with the AWD it was spinning the wheels making at three point u-turn. I have no idea what that driver was doing, the driver was driving somewhat erratically. There were a few times I was passed, I just think about going slow and being able to stop if the need arises. A big Nissan SUV had driven straight into the side of road and stopped right in front of a tree, I couldn't see if it actually hit the tree.
I could barely see where I was going, the wipers and windshield were frozen, I pulled over shortly after. Defrosting seems to be a problem, and the problem is made worse when snow gets in the car or with snow covered garments.
"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..."
Now we were around the 5000 ft level again, and I could see the trip was coming to an end.
I really like these mountain adventures and I wish I had more time to fully experience it. The snow and everything makes you feel like you're no longer in Southern California, it's really great. I liked the fact that last time there was less traffic during the day and it was a different experience, it's a big difference when the roads are being plowed. Did I forget to mention that I didn't get stuck this time? Well, apparently there was no time for that. I wonder when my next adventure is going to be...
