OT Driving I-5 in Feb, Driving I -5 Feb Conditions Options

[0396]

OK,

I need some advice from my fellow Teeners that live / have local knowledge
in driving from Stockton Calif to Seattle Wa- during the month of February.

My inquiry deals with 'snow / road ' conditions during that month.
* do I NEED snow chains - even if car is an full time Audi.
* If stopped for chain check- do these CHP understand that the Audi has full time 4 wheel.
* what are your local suggestions? I plan on making the mt trip from Redding to Medford in the day time..to me this much safer as there 'should ' be more traffic
utilizing the road..thus clearing up any snow / etc.

ANY suggestions is welcome..

ps I JUST bought a new set of Nokian WS all season snows for this trip..do I NEED to worry??

Thank YOU! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Gint]

A link to the full version of the story can be found in my resto thread, post #266. This was in late January of 2004. I think the 31st or Feb 01 to be really close.

Here's a couple of paragraphs from the trip story that I wrote up afterward:

OK, after leaving the Tied House dinner at 7:30 PST, I drove through the rain
to Pleasant Hill and picked up Brant's new 914 roller (75 2.0, sans motor).
Nice car, well worth the $1500 clams. I left Pleasant Hill at 9:30 Monday
night, and headed out into the rain for the east side of Sacramento to spend
the night and get a fresh start on Tuesday morning and avoid rush hour traffic.
I stayed at a nice hotel in Orangevale (I think) after a nice Jack in the Box
dinner. In the morning, more rain on the way up into the hills towards Truckee.
They forced me to buy chains for the van and the trailer just past the Baxter
exit. I turned around and visited with the "Chain Monkeys" trying to buy used
chains with all of $81 cash in my wallet. The 3 or 4 chain monkeys on the
Westbound side of 80 only had a set of your standard chains for the van for
$60. I drove down to the Baxter exit and stopped at the chain store where I met
a VERY strange California mountain dweller. Colorful character to say the
least, he cussed and swore more than I do. Whack job (yes, he could be a teener
owner) takes me back across the highway and down a side road to sell me a used
set of radial chains for the trailer at $20. Not bad. These are the only
chains I've ever used before, so I was familiar with them and their use.

Heading east again now, I'm waved through with a smile at the chain inspection
booth. After 5 miles or so, I'm wondering why I need chains at all. I've
lived in Colorado most of my life, am an avid skier, and generally no stranger
to mountain passes, snowstorms and icy roads. I travel worse than this to get
out of my neighborhood during some local storms. It's also at this point that
I notice the trailer lights not working again. The Ford seven lug to standard
flat 4 trailer connector has come lose on a couple of occasions on this trip.
The chains aren't helping the situation at all. So about 7 miles (give or
take) after acquiring chains, I stop at the Immigrant Gap exit to check it out
and hit the can. A roll of duct tape fixes the connector problem (never
travel without duct tape). While in the store, the guy tells me they just
lifted the chain restriction (duh!). I decided to leave them on until I reach
the summit, just to be safe.

This post has been edited by Gint: Jan 20 2010, 07:47 AM