Alaska by Javelin.

[Keith Clements]

Scott Renner and Keith Clements are planning a trip from Los Angeles to Coldfoot, Alaska across the Artic Circle (and back) in a Javelin in June 2016.

These are the five Google Map links of the route. These were based mainly on the service interval for the car requiring a stop near civilisation!

Los+Alamitos,CA/Tonopah,NV,/BonnevilleSaltFlats,UT/SaltLake+City,UT/Jackson,WY/West+Yellowstone,MT/Three+Forks,MT

ThreeForks,Mt/GlacierNationalPark,MT/Banff,AB/Prince+George,BC

PrinceGeorge,BC,Canada/MeziadinJunction,BC,/UpperLiard,YT,/Whitehorse,YT/BeaverCreek,YT/Fairbanks,AK/Wiseman

Wiseman,AK/Fairbanks,AK/Wasilla,AK/BeaverCreek,YT/Haines,AK

Bellingham,WA/Lincoln+City,OR/Eureka,CA/San+Francisco,CA/LosAlamitos,CA

[Keith Clements]

Slightly updated route as we have decided to miss out Three Forks and go straight to Glacier. (LEG 1.)
The campground in Banff (LEG 2) has been booked.

Accommodation in Fairbanks (LEG 3) has been booked as there is the Summer Solstice celebration on in the town when hopefully we arrive. We have decided to see the midnight sun by doing an overnight trip to the Arctic Circle and back .

The campground in Denali has been booked and hopefully we will have enough time to go South to Wasilla/Anchorage.
We aim to get to Haines (LEG 4.) a day before the ferry so we can take a day trip to Skagway.

The ferry has been booked and takes us to Bellingham, but what we do after that is a little undecided. We will try to visit Jowett owners (FINAL LEG) on the way but we only have a few hours spare before flying back to London and then going to Le Mans Classic Racing by Jowett the following day.

Saturday 4th June- Los Alamitos, CA to Tonapah, NV 06:18 413 miles via Death valley and stay at Clown Motel
Sunday 5th June-Tonapah, NV to Salt Lake City, UT 08:00 500 miles via Bonneville
Monday 6th June- Salt Lake City, UT to Jackson, WY 04:33 279 miles
Tuesday 7th June- Jackson, WY to West Yellowstone, MT 02:26 127 miles
Wednesday 8th June - Yellowstone Park/Mountainside
Thursday 9th June - West Yellowstone to Glacier National Park 06:02 369 miles
Friday 10th June- St.Mary, MT Campground (1438 mile Jowett service)
Saturday 11th June- Glacier NP to Banff 05:38 305 miles
Sunday 12th June- Lake Louise campground
Monday 13th June - Bannf to Prince George 07:45 410 miles via Jasper N.P.
Tuesday 14th June - with Robin Fairservice and do car 1019 mile service . May start travel. The following 5 days we will push on and see where we get to, aiming to get as close to Fairbanks by June 18th. With long days we can enjoy the scenery.
Wednesday 15th June - Prince George to Meziadin Junction 07:14 396 miles
Thursday 16th June - Meziadin Junction to Upper Liard 08:00 358 miles
Friday 17th June -Upper Liard to Whitehorse 05:21 265 miles
Saturday 18th June - Whitehorse to Beaver creek 05:36 277 miles
Sunday 19th June - Beaver Creek to Fairbanks 05:33 311 miles to see Summer Solstice fair.
Monday 20th June (1607 mile service) Overnight trip to Arctic Circle and Midnight Sun. 06:50 265 miles
Tuesday 21st June -Coldfoot to Fairbanks 06:50 265 miles
Wednesday 22nd June- Fairbanks to Denali 02:06 124 miles
Thursday 23rd June- Denali Day excursion , Riley Creek Campground.
Friday 24th June- Riley Creek to Wasilla 3 h 14 min (193 mi) This is the contingency section to make sure we get to Haines on time so may carry on and have a day trip to Skagway fom Haines.
Saturday 25th June - Wasilla to Beaver creek 07:21 395 miles.
Sunday 26th June - Beaver Creek to Haines 07:12 329 miles
Monday 27th June - Car service 1570 miles. Ferry checking 18:15 , depart 20:15
Tuesday to Friday on Inside Passage to Bellingham, WA arrive 08:00.
Friday 1st July- Bellingham, WA to Lincoln City, OR 06:05 365 miles
Saturday 2nd July- Lincoln City to Eureka 6 h 58 min (338 mi)
Sunday 3rd July - Eureka to Healdsburg 3 h 31 min (202 mi) via Redwood SP
Monday 4th July - Healdsburg to Los Alamitos 07:04 465 miles via Golden Gate Bridge.
I guess there will be two reasons to celebrate on this day.
5th July 17:50 fly to London
6th July 12:20 arrive London
7th July 07:00 leave for Le Mans

[Keith Clements]

On our way. 5.30 start.

[Tony Fearn]

If subsequent photos are upside down, have you missed your way and ended up in Oz?
All the best for the trip.
Tony.

[Keith Clements]

Made it to the haunted Clown Motel Tonopah Nevada. Car and we survived 100 F and 7500ft climb.

417 miles 18.6 us gal 2 pints oil , 8 pints water.

We found a leak from the oil pressure pipe which accounts for some of the oil loss and the pressurised water system butted a few times so we had to add water. What do you expect climbing 7000ft in 100 deg F. With 3 up and a ton of luggage.

[Keith Clements]

An evening stroll. 9pm and 83.5 deg F

[NoelStokoe]

Hi Keith, another great adventure under way, I hope you all have a fantastic journey and the Javelin behaves well for you!

[Keith Clements]

An eventful day. Leaving Tonopah early we had a puncture which shredded the tyre. This stretch also required we travel 170 miles between gas stations over a few 6500ft passes. So there was a lot of economy driving, coasting down hills. We took bets on where we would run out. Scott reckoned 8 miles , Neil 18 and I reckoned we would make it. The car spluttered at 9.6 miles. So a fill up and some pictures admiring the flora before the last pass into Ely. Here we found a hardware store open but no tyre shops. So we took the tube out to find it was ruined.
Then another 130 miles to Wendover , Utah, and Bonneville where we took some pictures of the Jav and ventured onto the crunchy salt pan. Then another 130 miles over the salt desert to SLC . The car spluttered with what we thought was a vapour lock. In SLC we found a Motel. But the car refused to start so after some investigation the fuel pump was changed. We had a good meal and good beer.

Tomorrow is another day.

[Robin Fairservice]

My son tells me that there is now a proper gas station at Meziadin Junction.

[Keith Clements]

The 4th night , 4th state.
Now in Montana having had a great day walking around the geysers and hot pools of Old Faithful basin.
A PETrol PICK UP ISSUE MEANT we had to blow out the fuel line surrounded by bison. Seems OK now.
Last night was camping beside a raging stream that kept Neil awake but the white noise sent Scott and I to sleep. There was thunder and lighting but the locals poo pooed the idea we might be washed away.

So California, Nevada, Utah, then Wyoming . We also ventured a few times into Idaho and today crossed passes well over 8000ft. We had a elk steaks in Jackson and Bison burger in West Yellowstone.

[Keith Clements]

Now at Jim Miller's in Three Forks Montana having serviced car. On our way to Glacier NP

[Keith Clements]

Today was busy with James going into Belgrade MT to pick up the tubes for the tyres whilst the two new tyre casings were fitted to the wheels. Scott took out the petrol tank whilst Keith and Neil greased the car. Neil and I adjusted brakes.
We checked out the pump and pressure regulator with a manometer tube and then moved the pump to somewhere cooler on the other side. Put an paper filter in the line and moved the regulator to the front of the car. All the petrol was filtered and put back in after checking inside the tank. All was clean. All the tubes and filters in the carbs were back flushed with compressed air. The car was started and all looked good. The tappets and timing were checked.

Clothes Washing was done and the car packed again.

I went to the library to sit outside to send the last message as that was the only place with wifi. Short because it started to thunder and we had to be off to drive the next 140 miles to Missoula along the I 90 to avoid the evening deer and mouse. It was a great drive over the Continental Divide.

Just stopped once to pump up the new tyre as the car was swaying a bit. No petrol problems.

Found a Motel but only cafe wad closed so have braced some free 'food' from the service station as they were clearing out the hot counter. Washed down with some lovely Full Sail IPA.

[Keith Clements]

The trip; we had a debate about Death Valley as temperatures were 10 deg F hotter than the left side up through the Sierras.and with a new tight motor and big hills to go over4000ft one end and 7000ft the other , and it was the first day!?!, it was the right choice , boy was it hot , up to 90+degF. It was 112 the valley way! The jav got up to 85 deg C and at each stop we had to top up the radiator but survived .
The road was 4000ft hills north of LA, then down to flat desert , but by midday we were at an undulating 3 to 4000 ft. By one pm we were past Death Valley and heading east to Nevada over a 7000Ft pass (new time zone)
The scenery, we are travelling up a valley withe the Sierra mountains either side we at 85-90 degF, and the mountains each side have snow on them but they are 9000ft and we are at 3-4000, very dry in the valley until we hit a real green spot Crystal Springs where they bottle water and farm for afew miles each way! The rest was pretty much desert for the run to the Clown motel at Tonepah. That was cheap, clean, good shower friendly people . Old and bit rundown but all we needed, and interesting.
Final part of the heat was when the balance weights which were alloy type stick on ones, they unstuck and fell off !?! Never seen that before., It was hot but they should've stuck on regardless. 400 mile day
Next morning we started. Again early at 6.15am. Too avoid the heat and had a steady run for 30 minutes and got a puncture back left wheel, Phutttttt! With difficulty put on the spare , learnt wot not to do next time but hope there will not be a next time!!
Carried on up and down through Nevada at heights mostly 4000ft going up to 6500 at the passes . There was a long way to the next petrol stop at. Elva. We were going to run out and had a book on who'd get closest me 18 scot at 8, and Keith at zero. We ran out at 8.5. Filled from spare can and got there , then no tyre places open Sunday ! So did it the hard way to find tube and case buggered? So on to Bonneville salt flats , and on to Salt Lake City in Utah. Tomorrow sort a spare for rest of the trip.

[Keith Clements]

Managed to survive rain storm during the night and left for the Canadian border. 10 miles away the sign prompted Scott to remember he had left his passport at home. A worrying 20 minutes before an amenable immigration officer allowed Scott to phone a friend on my phone who sent an image of his passport to me.

Do we are now in Alberta. Must get on our way to Banff.

[Keith Clements]

The Aspen Motel in Missoula was quite but we arrived 5 minutes late for the restaurant so ate some left overs from the store washed.

The trip up to Glacier was nearly scuppered when the planned fuel stop had burnt down. So we put the spare canful in and made it to Flat head lake.

We then found the route through the park was closed due to an avalanche. So we went as far as we could and walked around a loop admiring the river and trees. Neil bumped into a deer.

The reroute took us over a winding rough road and then a hailstorm tested another aspect of the car. We then went up the east side road into the park to look at the receding glacier.

We have picked up some tins of stew and will tuck into those tonight. Plus some huckleberry cider