Afraid Of Heights... Driving To Tacoma, Washington From San Antonio, Texas

Please help. Any input is appreciated. I'm driving to Tacoma, Washington from San Antonio, Texas and want to know what is the best route to minimize mountain driving and heights. Lol. If I can avoid it altogether that would be lovely. I have only driven in Texas so I am scared. Thanks for your help.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but mountains cannot be avoided while driving in the Pacific Northwest. I suggest driving slowly and down shifting prior to your decent.

Aaahhhh! Hopefully that route gets cancelled. Lol 😱😱 Thanks for the advice.

You've never driven a route like that and you're already getting yourself worked up without knowing? Conquer your fears. You can't spend your whole career avoiding mountains. It's some seriously beautiful forested driving and very worth the time spent slowly driving through.

Don't even worry about the grades. They don't have to be scary if you get into the gear you're comfortable with and use the engine brake.

In fact, I'd say climbing and descending is ten times easier than city driving. I find it to be more annoying than difficult. I know I can put my truck into 7th gear and climb up a hill to the moon at 28 mph. I can put her in 6th and slide straight down to the core of the earth at 25 mph. Things don't have to be scary and fast, they can be slow and annoying. Just put your four ways on.

I think what has happened is you've looked into your route and it's making you nervous because you have to do Snoqualmie and it has a bit of trucker name legend to it. I've done it about a dozen times and it's nothing to be afraid of. Just find your comfort zone with your gears.

And also, if this will be your first time driving up into the Pacific Northwest, I'm jealous of you. There are things in life that are remarkable experiences the first time you do them, like driving into the PNW, watching Breaking Bad, and, well... other things. Consider yourself lucky and enjoy the experience.

Yes. I am nervous and what makes it worse is that I learned to drive in a ten speed but was assigned an automatic so I am apprehensive about not having as much control. But you guys are right conquering my fear will be an experience. Thanks again.

I would not even touch snoqualmie pass if going to Tacoma. I would take white pass Hwy 12. Not a lot of traffic and no big cliffs for you to look over. Either that or the Blue Mountains in Oregon but that puts you way above the Columbia river. Either way there is no way to avoid heights because you have to cross the Columbia River unless you go by boat. You could take Hwy 14 that runs along the north side of the Columbia to Vancouver and then take I5 north from there. I have not driven that route but I think it runs right along the river and no pass to go over but don't quote me on that.

Yes. I am nervous and what makes it worse is that I learned to drive in a ten speed but was assigned an automatic so I am apprehensive about not having as much control. But you guys are right conquering my fear will be an experience. Thanks again.

As for not having control with an automatic.... Poppykock! I have only driven one and it only took me one day to figure out how to make it do what I wanted it to. Just play with it on the way up. You will have a couple of days anyhow.

I would not even touch snoqualmie pass if going to Tacoma. I would take white pass Hwy 12. Not a lot of traffic and no big cliffs for you to look over. Either that or the Blue Mountains in Oregon but that puts you way above the Columbia river. Either way there is no way to avoid heights because you have to cross the Columbia River unless you go by boat. You could take Hwy 14 that runs along the north side of the Columbia to Vancouver and then take I5 north from there. I have not driven that route but I think it runs right along the river and no pass to go over but don't quote me on that.

Hwy 14 has no passes to speak of, but last time I drove that it was a narrow 2-lane road with lots of curves and little hills. That was 20 years ago, so it might have been widened, but probably I 84 on the south side of the river is a better choice. Still have to deal with Cabbage Hill to get there.

Just remember that even in an automatic, you can still shift and downshift manually. Hey some practice doing so before hitting the mountain areas