Wrath of the Grapevine

Tiffany Morrison was trying to be a fun mom.

The Lake Isabella resident had agreed to take her two daughters and their three friends to Magic Mountain’s Hurricane Harbor.

Unfortunately, the Grapevine killed her station wagon.

“This isn’t fun. It’s the middle of July, there’s five kids with me and the car stops running,” said Morrison, as the girls tried in vain to convince her that their amusement park adventure could be salvaged. At Golden State Towing in Castaic, mechanics finally said those three words Morrison feared most: “blown head gasket.”

Morrison is just one of hundreds of motorists whose cars will die this summer on the Grapevine, a 40-mile stretch of the Golden State Freeway that runs through Castaic, Gorman, Fort Tejon and Frazier Park, over the mountains north of Los Angeles. Tow truck drivers and CHP officers say the most treacherous part for overheating radiators is the uphill climb that starts in Castaic. The hill rises at only a 5% grade, but without a break for five miles, from Lake Hughes Road to Templin Highway. “It’s steep and it’s long,” said tow truck driver Jim Watkinson. “If there is something wrong with your car, it will show up on that hill.”

Last week Kurt Ludwig, 37, of Hollywood, said his final goodbye to his 1985 Honda Accord. “That hill is a killer,” Ludwig said. “It’s infamous.”

The salesman was on his way to visit his parents in San Francisco when his Honda overheated. Ludwig blames himself.

“The temperature gauge was reading high. I don’t know where my mind was. I just kept driving until it blew up,” Ludwig said. “I’m disgusted with myself.”

A week later, Ludwig traveled back to Golden State Towing to retrieve possessions from the car. He has decided to cut his losses and abandon the car. Now without a car, he stuffed his belongings into a shopping cart.

“I’m bringing it all home on the bus,” Ludwig said.

On a cross-country trip that started in Michigan, 32-year-old Steve Williams broke down in the late afternoon heat Wednesday. He almost made it.

“The radiator blew at the top of the hill,” said Williams, who was heading home to Seattle.

His Grapevine ordeal lasted longer than most. He didn’t call for a tow until mechanics had left for the day. Williams ended up sleeping in his car all night, waiting for the mechanics to come back in the morning to tell him whether the car could be saved.

It’s not just older cars that don’t make it through the Grapevine. Some motorists ignore the signs warning them to turn off their air conditioning as the they ascend the hill.

“I had a 2000 Cadillac in here yesterday with 400 miles on it. It overheated,” said Carl Tarello, a manager at Golden State Towing.

The volume of calls for tow service rises dramatically in the summer months, said Tom Azbill, a contract station supervisor for the Automobile Club of Southern California.

Weekends are the busiest time. Golden State Towing dispatcher Janie Jones said when the temperature nears triple digits, her phone doesn’t stop ringing. On Wednesday, when the high was about 107 degrees, Jones said there were 35 calls from the highway. Her firm is one of three towing services that handles the southern stretch of the Grapevine.

The calls from the Grapevine are typically made from call boxes. The California Highway Patrol takes the calls and routes them, depending on the problem, to either patrol officers or towing services.

“During the summer, the calls from the Grapevine go up dramatically,” said Elizabeth Gomes, a communications supervisor for the CHP. “The cars just can’t handle the Grapevine.”

It’s the length of this particular incline that makes it so difficult.

Margie Tiritilli, a spokeswoman for Caltrans, said the Grapevine is not the steepest roadway in the California highway system. But the five-mile northbound climb seems to claim more than its share of casualties.

A few miles down the road, Dale Gunderson was also stuck. He was trying to get to Sacramento in a luxury bus to pick up clients for a tour of Northern California and Oregon. He stopped the bus at a turnout when the temperature gauge started shooting up.

“You never let the engine overheat in a bus,” said Gunderson, 65.

But after the engine cooled, he said he couldn’t get started again.

“It’s not going to move,” Gunderson said, not at all looking forward to the prospect of a long tow.

This was his first breakdown on the Grapevine, but Gunderson said he wasn’t surprised.

He travels the coast all the time. The only comparable hill is in Ashland, Ore. But it’s the Grapevine climb that he dreads the most.

“This is the longest grade we travel,” Gunderson said. ‘The Grapevine is notorious.”

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Grapevine Travel Tips Tow truck drivers, Automobile Club of Southern California officials and California Highway Patrol officers offered these tips for making it over the Grapevine:

* Check your car’s cooling system, hoses and belts. All should be in good condition.

* Bring bottled water, for yourself and your radiator.

* Turn air conditioning off.

* Keep an eye on the temperature. If it starts to rise, stop at a turnoff and let the car cool. Turn on the heater to cool the engine.

* Try to stop near a call box. If you are calling from a cell phone, try to spot the number on the nearest call box in order to identify your location.

* Be wary of help from strangers. Call the CHP or a tow service.

* Bring enough money or a credit card to pay for a tow.