YVR to Mexican Border (& back) Mar-Apr 2023: Day 2

From Wilsonville (Portland) we headed south the next morning frequently checking both weather and road conditions. It seemed that it was in our favour as the road was bare and wet so onward we went. We had booked a Harvest Host Spot at Mt. Shasta Brewing Co. in Weed, CA. so that was our planned overnight spot.

There was a wind warning out on our route so driving at times was more cautious and intense however we drove over the Siskiyou with not a problem and breathed a sigh of relief.

Too soon.

Down the other side we went until we passed through Yreka where we spied a few flakes of snow. It’s a 30 minute drive from Yreka to Weed and no place to stop in between so on we went. The snow started to get heavier and at the 10 minute mark it was coming down pretty good. The wind was still a problem and I started counting down the miles plus time in 5 minute intervals.

Snow on the road started to accumulate and the wind was howling. We had 10 minutes to go before our exit. And then…….. literally blizzard like conditions. Living in BC means we are used to rapidly changing weather conditions on our roads. You can’t drive on the Coquihalla without facing down some intense driving conditions. In this situation we had nowhere to pull over except the Weed airport which was an open area on the side of the I-5.

We saw the sign for our exit and hoped for the best. It’s a short off ramp on a downhill slope but was covered in snow. We made it down and around fine but our TB “coasted” around the corner. It was then uphill and turn right and we find ourselves in a neighbourhood with a sense of doom however we spied the Mt. Shasta Brewing Co. sign and turned into their parking lot which was liberally covered in snow with snow banks on the sides from previous plowing.

Dan swung around the one side and TB parked on the side after the entry. They simply pulled off the best they could in the snow, hit the brake and put down the leveling legs. That’s it folks – not going anywhere tonite and not even sure about tomorrow! Slides stayed in and we fired up the geni for some heat. Wind and snow were slamming against the side and all we could do was sit for a moment and let the heart rate settle.

Turns out Mt. Shasta Brewing Co. is kind of like a pub too. And they had food. So we went in and ordered a pizza & two beers for the guys plus a glass of wine with tortilla chips and salsa for me (the only thing gluten free). They weren’t expecting us LOL – they pretty much were sure we wouldn’t make it. Surprise!

We overnighted there and the next morning at 5am someone was out plowing the parking lot (well, that’s good news, really). Fired up the geni about 7am and warmed up (furnace was on during the night but at 16 deg C so as to not wear down the batteries too much). Made breakfast and a pot of tea while checking road and weather conditions. The I-5 was closed in a number of areas particularly from Yreka to about Corning. It looked like we might be staying another night.

Map: French Prairie Rest Area to Weed, CA