Consulting our maps and Magellan GPS, we plotted a course around the troubled areas through (hopefully open) back roads to areas of highway we knew were open. Remarkably, the remainder of the trip was anti-climactic: Damp weather and heavy traffic prevailed to lengthen our drive by five hours.
Exhausted and bleary-eyed, we arrived back at the Motor Trend offices in the wee hours, unpacked our gear from the Forester and Outlander, then headed on home to get some much-needed rest. You can read how these two wagons fared head-to-head on the trip in the June 2003 issue of MT. We're just thankful we were testing an AWD Forester and Outback, rather than a rear-drive Corvette and Mustang.
Photo locations courtesy Mammoth Mountain and Mammoth Mountain Chalets