Is a Seattle -> Snoqualmie, Crystal or Stevens trip a bad idea?
 

Hi all! It's ski season and I'd love to make it up to one of the mountains. I'm definitely going to buy some winter tires, and I believe that at least for Snoqualmie Pass I need to own some tire chains (or more realistically, cable chains).

Couple questions:
- Have any of you made this kind of trip or am I an idiot for even considering it in this car? I'm concerned about snow + ground clearance when getting out, really.
- Any recommended cable chains?

Yes I*have. You'll be fine. Your issue is likely to be purely snow depth at your parking spot. The car doesn't have the clearance for chains. I have winter tires and a set of autosocks and I get up and down Mt Hood just fine.

Autosocks? :confused:

Read your manual. All the info is there.
If it was me I'll rent a 4x4 or AWD. That's if the snow is high. And what's not. Also beats having to put chains out in the cold.

Does anyone know how difficult Seattle to San Diego would be assuming I take I-5S all the way down? I'd take the coastal route which would be highway 101 but I read that there is torrential flooding on that route!

Going to be major snow and ice in the Siskiyous on the OR/CAL border.
Storm warnings on Wunderground from Eugene to Yreka and flooding through the central valley.

Try to delay the trip a week or two.
Flying down would be the best bet.

I'd fly down if I had the choice.. I'm in Florida now and I'll be flying to Seattle grabbing my car and driving down to Cali then grabbing i10 alllll the way back to Florida.... I just need to get though Cali and I should be clear from there.

Thanks for the advice and info!

If anyone has road trip prep tips I'm open to suggestions!

I went up to the mountain various times and only have studless snow tires. Everything was fine. Not need for chains. The biggest issue is deep snow that is higher than the bottom of your car which will put you stuck up in the air on top of it with tires not on the ground.

I've done this before - I-5S is incredibly boring (literally a straight way down 90% of the way). If you get close to the border of Oregon -> California, it snows pretty heavily there in December/January. So I ended up just going west to PCH and driving down through PCH from there - it was amazing.

When it was snowing at the border, the guys wouldn't let cars go without snow chains, even if you had winter tires, it was quite frustrating.

I recommend the PCH route though - it was SUPER rainy, but it was beautiful during the day. Be careful in night times - as I had to swerve past 2 deers - so I imagine someone that's sleepy or not paying much attention will hit those if unlucky. Hope that helps at all!

Things to consider...
 

1) It's not always about "putting chains (reg or cable or socks)" on... but sometimes the State Patrol requiring that "Carrying of chains is required..." (this is especially true with going over the Siskiyous....)

2) Not too many people think past, "Oh... I'll get some chains (etc.)" -- and then when it comes time to actually put them on...

- In wet, slushy dirty "chain-up" areas
- In the dark
- Freezing conditions

they figure out... "Whoa... how the heck is this going to work?"

So if you're going to carry, be sure to carry some hand tools, a tarp or blanket to put down on the ground, work gloves, a really good (powerfull) lantern, flashlight (and someone to hold it), or a "Head-lamp", and a change of clothing cuz most of the time, one is going to get a little dirty in the process.

OR... if there are nice guys with jacks and such at the Chain-up areas, pay them to install the chains...

Good luck!

For what it's worth, I just drove from Olympia to Pasadena over the holidays and faced the same situation -- which way to go when your rig is too low to use "chains" (or similar). I had to watch the 14-day forecast for the Siskiyous in the days leading up to the trip south. My Plan B in case of forecast for snow (of any intensity which might result in State Patrol requiring the "carrying of chains") was to head off at Grants Pass on OR 199 to the coast... then head south to McKinleyville and then back over to the 5. Luckily the Siskiyous were clear of snow the day I had to make the decision so I was able to sail over the pass w/o issue and proceeded south to LA.

I switched back and forth from the 5 to 101... lots of 101 are in terrible shape... bad asphalt, etc. but it is a little more "fun" than the boring long stretches of the 5 and the idiots that are hell-bent on dangerous lane changes while passing. The State Routes I used to go back and forth were a lot of fun!

However... on the way back, same situation and the day before I would have to face the Siskiyous (heading north), there was forecast for snow, so I took CA 36 from Red Bluff to Eureka, then northward to Crescent City, then OR 199 to Grants Pass. (I was going to take CA 299 west out of Redding, but at the time, it was closed due to mudslides -- and looks to still be closed... according to the CalTrans website.

All sounds pretty mundane, but... CA 36 ended up being a tad dicey b/c at the summit, there was snow.. temps in the high 20's, and a ton of the red clay/sand that CalTrans puts down to help with traction. So it was miles and miles of 15-20 mph around turns and such... pretty scenery, but a little stressful until I got to lower elevations.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...pslwgwj9tn.jpg

To clarify... I did this trip in another sports car... not the FR-S. However in both cases, there is no "putting chains" on either because of how low the rigs are to the road. (Well, that and I like my fenders...) And, there were many turns where I wished I was in the lighter, more nimble "86." The extra HP on tap only really came into its own on the Super Slab of the 5.

And I will say... weather notwithstanding... if you take the "86" on the road trip, and have some extra time, I highly recommend taking some of the East/West State Routes (like CA 36, OR 199) as they are GREAT fun -- twisty and occasional whoop-d-doos (caveat... "in the daytime..." - remember it gets dark kind of early...)

Good luck... and have a safe trip!

This is kind of off topic, but I just arrived in South Florida.. and I drove all the way from Seattle which was a hell of a trip.. did it in 5 days give or take.

I'm wondering if i should replace my oil filter after driving 75-85 mph for basically 3500 miles? I already have more amsoil 0w30 to put in so I'm just wondering if i should replace my filter again.. mind you that it was basically brand new when i left, maybe 300-400 miles on the filter before leaving.

Also, car survived the trip pretty well, the only damage was a rock shattering a fog light but other than that the car is solid.

Didn't need chains to go over the pass I just waited for a sunny day and all was good.

Thanks,

Chris Hetkey

Guess I'm a southeast forum user now... ugh

I'd say you should be fine.. but it doesn't hurt to get a new filter. Head to the Subaru dealership for <8 dollar filters. :D (Dunno if you use aftermarket or not)

Im running an HKS filter at the moment. I'll just order another

Thanks for the info