The I 5 is our fastest connection to San Francisco. The interstate is a pretty route through the foothills of the Cascades, passing the 14,163 ft / 4317 m high cone-shaped Mt. Shasta that somehow reminds of Kilimanjaro, just carrying more snow. Shasta Lake is an idyllic reservoir, but we continue our way down to escape the snow and finally land in Redding, the first bigger city in California, where fruit trees are blossoming to our relief.