If you are an avid adventurer, California is a dream. The state offers every type of environment you can dream of. Chances are at some point, the eastern part of the state is going to come into focus. There are so many incredible places to explore. The mountains feel bigger, there are less people, and it generally serves as a great reminder of how big the earth is. There's a reason for this. It's remote. California has a gigantic mountain range dividing it right down the middle and unless you live in the southern part of the state or from the east, you'll have to cross it. In the summer, this is easy. There are several roads that grant access, however most of these roads close during the winter. Do your research and see if the one Google Maps has you taking is closed.

 

My friend Jay and I weren't so lucky. We had planned to take Tioga Pass aka Route 120 which is the road that runs through Yosemite National Park. On the eve of our departure, the road closed for the winter, so we pivoted to the road just north, Sonora Pass / Route 108. We left San Francisco around 7am and booked it to the mountains, checking the road's status every half an hour. We reached the town of Sonora around 11:30am at which point we started receiving conflicting reports of the status of the road. Against our better judgement, we decided to risk it and trudge on. Pretty soon after that, we would lose service. Around 12:30pm, after no signs of road closure, we reached what we did not want to see - a road closure. We realized quickly why the road was closed. Just past the sign, the road turned into a 26% grade which with the slightest bit of snow would turn into a death trap. Begrudgingly, we had no choice, but to turn around and backtrack and try and take Route 88 N to Route 89 S through Tahoe. After a pee break and a little bit of drone time, we continued on.

  

 The scene of our pee break and very close to the road closure. A small river ran parallel to the road which created along with it a river of green trees amongst a sea of burnt ones.

 

This mishap ended up costing us a lot of time and we didn't reach Route 88 until mid afternoon. All was not lost. A large portion of 88 flirts with elevations in the 6k - 7k range which offered beautiful views. Around 3pm, our next obstacle in the road trip welcomed us. It started to snow. For the next hour or so, we drove in and out of light flurries, stopping only once at an incredible vista to fly the drone between flurries behind the van. 

 

A shot from the drone at this incredible vista point on Route 88.

 

Then it got dark. And then it started snowing. Hard. And we started driving up again. Shortly after this, we approached a long line of stopped cars. It stayed this way for 45 minutes. In this time, it must have snowed 1" - 2". It was dumping. We both agreed the use of chains would be an appropriate addition to our adventure. Jay had just installed new tires on the van and in doing so, bought new chains and this was the first time using them. To our dismay, while they were functional, they did not quite fit as well as he had hoped. Along with traction, came a cringe-making noise, so loud, we had to yell to converse.

 

The line of cars in a standstill grew as quickly as the snow accumulated.

 

A dramatic shot of Jay putting the newly purchased chains on the read driver's side tire.

 

Lots of cars off the road.

 

As we continued on, slowly I should say, we witnessed several cars on the side of the road, including several should-be-capable SUVs. We could not wait to take off the chains as the noise was as much unbearable because of the decibel level as it was the pain we imagined it was causing the van. We drove for maybe twenty minutes with chains on, the last five on dryish ground until we couldn't take it anymore. Thankfully we didn't need them for the rest of the drive. While it was dark, the moon was 95% full, which did well to light up huge open fields on either side of the road on 89 south. We could only imagine how beautiful it was in the day, but at this point we were focused on not only getting to the other side of the Sierra, but also eating. 

 

Route 89 South under a nearly full moon.

 

We arrived in Bridgeport around 8:30. The next day was Thanksgiving and against all hopes, the only thing open with food was the Shell gas station which meant a microwave burrito, chips and trail mix. What should have taken us 5 or so hours ended up taking more 8 or 9 more. When in doubt, take the way you know will be open.