211 miles via I-5. Cumulative distance: 5,824 miles.
GTW Hop 33: Canyonville OR to Redding CA
This was the reverse of Hop 29, except that we used a different RV park in Redding as a destination. The weather was bad, as usual, but not as bad as I expected. There were some sunny breaks and the wind was tolerable. But once we got to Redding we encountered a problem with slide #2 – the big slide that already has one broken cable. A second cable started to fray and snapping is probably imminent. As a result, we spent the night with a half-deployed living room and considered our options. We have concluded that we need to get the slide repaired ASAP and because it could mean more time in a hotel we would rather do it in the San Francisco area than in Redding. So our current plan is to skip Napa and head straight to San Jose. We will spend the last week of the GTW there, with a final short hop to our winter campground.
So we hope to leave tomorrow (Sunday) and perhaps get Patience in for repair on Monday. However, the weather is a problem, as it has been everywhere we have gone in California and Oregon. The forecast for Sunday is once again for heavy rain and high winds. It is likely that we will be forced to wait out the storm in our crippled RV.
The final leg of the GTW – the trip from Tillamook to San Jose – is turning into a nightmare.
On the trip to Redding we passed by Mount Shasta during one of the sunny breaks. It is a beautiful snow-capped volcano. The top was encased in clouds, but it was a surprise to see it at all as it is on track to break the record for most snowfall from a single storm. I am not talking a Mount Shasta record or even a US record; I am talking about a possible world record. The total snowfall from this current storm is expected to exceed 15 feet, which puts it in world record territory, and may exceed 20 feet, which would shatter the existing record.
Epically bad weather.
Mt Shasta during a brief break in the weather
Just to twist the knife, the person at the counter of the RV park told me that this weather is very unusual. To quote her: “We are usually still in T-shirts and shorts in early December.”
Lucky us.