YVR -> SFO (2)
So there I was, stranded in Ashland, Oregon, camping in the South Oregon University wrestling room with my tracksuit, sweater, and ski jacket on, backpack serving as a pillow. Around 3am, I woke up to see the room had filled with sleepers! A Red Cross Disaster Relief team was handing out blankets now -- I got one and returned to my slumber.
7am, I awoke. Greyhound buses had delivered their passengers here through the night, and I surveyed the now-hundreds of people sleeping in the rooms, hallways, everywhere. It was the scene of an ER during a natural disaster, but I liken it more to a refugee camp. Cookies and biscuits, breads and cakes, fruits, drinks were provided to tame the grumbling stomachs of wary travellers. (I filled my bottles with juice and stocked my car. You never know.) Most remained calm (though unhappy), but a few were visibly worried about getting to their destinations on schedule (or asap). Disaster Relief volunteers answered questions and put people to ease, while SWAT team members stood by, and local media made their stories.
A man in a red jacket addressed us. News. The highway was closed from Redding, CA, up to the Oregon border; all 150 miles of it, and probably for another 24 hours. Some 300 cars were still stuck on the highway, and snowmobiles shuttled food, medical, and emergency supplies in while carrying persons out.
It meant possibly another night in this shelter, and I put my blanket in my car to keep it until night while making note to claim one of the cots in the larger room for a more comfortable sleep. I chatted with relief team volunteer Esther to pass some time, but eventually decided to make alternate plans of escape. Not out of panic -- there's no point to panicking in a situation like that. I just had to take what was dealt and deal with it; do what you gotta do.
A variety of options began to emerge. Greyhound would re-route one of its buses originally for Medford to come down and pick some passengers up and head back north. Some people were considering flying out of Medford to wherever they needed to get to. Some wanted to go back to Seattle. One guy didn't know how he would continue his journey to Texas. A Mongolian foreign student was on her cell phone with her host family in San Francisco, trying to figure out what to do, particularly since her parents were flying into SFO at 9am the next day.
On my map, I found Highway 199, which connects Grants Pass, OR, to Crescent City, CA, on the coast -- a detour of roughly 125 miles. Then I'd take the US-101 down from there. I figured it was a 10-hour drive, taking into account the weather and traffic conditions. Noah, a young organic foods entrepreneur from the Los Angeles area (who bears a striking resemblance to Noah Wyle of ER fame), was considering the same plan with his Camry wagon.
Rumours were that the I-5 could be opened by 4pm; another rumour whispered it might be open by noon. But the only real news was the 24 hours. Even if they were true, it would take time before cars could start out on the I-5 again, and it would certainly be slow progress (in chains) for the next 150 miles. I guessed it would take us twelve hours, starting from who-knows-when.
10 hours of driving beats 3-to-24 hours of waiting and then 12 hours of driving. And I would rather be driving than doing nothing and waiting around. Teamed up, we began to approach others to see if anyone wanted to form an impromptu caravan to travel together.
