7th & 8th
July 2016
Mountains,
glaciers, and ice blue rivers
I was still not
sure what to do about the car when I woke up this morning – I just didn’t feel
that I had all the facts that would enable me to make not just a logical
decision, but also the right decision. I
had spent quite a lot of money getting the problems analyzed, but still had no
finite answer either as to what the exact problem was, or whether I could
continue with the car as it was. However
I decided to go back down the road about 25 kms to Canmore to get some kind of
lubricant I had been told might help me.
I had to try something, and a giving the car a bit of a run might help
indicate if it would run OK or not.
So it was back on
the scenic road to Canmore, and to NAPA Auto Parts. Well, they didn’t have what I thought they
would have, but they did give me the address of a local Diesel “export” who
might be able to shed more light on the issue – So off I toddled to see them –
Three Sisters Diesel Repairs – The three sisters being 3 mountain peaks under
which the garage was located.
They were helpful,
although sometimes you can get too much information and still not be quite sure
what to do. But Wayne was good, and
eventually slotted me in and ran more diagnostics on the engine – He said he
would be able to pinpoint exactly what was wrong, and I felt that was at least
more than I had already. The mechanical
answer is that one of my (two) EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) valves is just
not working, which means the engine is running without a turbo (which gives me
my power), and the whole air flow through the engine is just all wrong, due to
the crud that has collected in the intake over the 400,000 kms that Troopie has
done. Probably poor quality diesel in
central and south America has accelerated the build up of this crud, and now
Troopie can’t breath ! A bit like tar
collecting in the lungs of a heavy smoker !!
Wayne suggested
that if I replace one EGR valve, I really should replace the other, otherwise
that could fail just like the first one.
In addition, there is a solenoid in there which operates the two EGR
valves, and there is a good chance this is stuffed too, or very close to being,
so this should be replaced too. As he
couldn’t solve my problem, Wayne very kindly didn’t charge me for his analysis,
and, with this information, I decided to drive the 300 kms to Jasper and see
how the car performed.
I was also
heading to Jasper because my Welsh friends Bernard and Glenys, with whom I had
spent the week in Halifax in May when we were waiting for our cars to arrive
from Europe, were also passing through Jasper tonight – They were on their way
back south having already been to Alaska.
They were already in Jasper by lunchtime so after texting, they found
and booked a campsite so we could catch up on a few tales tonight over a beer.
I found the drive
north from Banff to Jasper very
interesting – I have been on this road twice before, and both times I have
travelled from north to south. This time
I was going in the opposite direction, and the scenery, and feeling of the
mountains, was completely different.
Basically the mountains are much higher and more dramatic in the north
near Jasper, and as you drive north, the mountains kind of “build”, getting
steadily bigger and more dramatic. I passed Castle
Mosquito Creek
may not sound much fun, but there is a delightful campsite there and Janet and
I spent a night there in 2014 right beside a rushing river, and thoroughly
enjoyed it. I popped in there just to
check it out, and it was still a great little camp site. But too early for me, and anyway I had to
meet Bernard and Glenys in Jackson. From
Mosquito Creek, the scenery really builds quite quickly, with the Bow Glaciers
up to the left, and then the Bow Pass up at 2067 m, and with snow covered peaks
on both sides of the road that reached up to well over 3000 metres.
One is forever
passing ice blue lakes or crossing ice blue rivers that flow down off the
mountains and the icefields above, and the scenery is just delightful. On any hills I was having a real problem with
Troopie – on the flat she is sluggish, but can hold 100 kmh (or more) quite
easily. But if there is the slightest
uphill gradient, she just has no power at all, and I am struggling to even keep
going at 50 or 60 kmh in 3rd, on a hill that normally I would romp
up at 100 kmh in 5th. All a
bit difficult, but apart from the power she seems OK –
Eventually we
reached the Icefield Centre where the enormous Columbia Icefield lies hidden on
top of the mountains to the left, but the Athabasco Glacier feeds down towards
the road, as do the Columbia and Saskatchewan glaciers and several other
smaller glacial tongues that are fed from the Columbia Icefield. Covering over 200 sq kms, the Columbia
Icefield is the largest mass of glacial ice in the Canadian Rockies. I didn’t
stop at the Icefield as it is an enormous car park full of every possible
vehicle you can think of – Usually large motorhomes, and I didn’t feel I need
to explore the Athabasca Glacier again – Stunning through it may be. I just admired it from afar.
As I approached
the amazing Athabasca Falls, where the wide Athabasca River funnels down into a
tiny gorge in a stunning display of water power, I suddenly got a phone signal
and a text from Bernard came through – I needed to take the Athabasca Falls
turn off to get to the Wabasso campsite they had managed to find space in, some
14 kms south of Jasper. So I just made
the turn in time, crossed a bridge right over the top of the Athabasca Falls,
and, after watching some people having fun white water rafting on the Whirlpool
River, found the camp site, and Bernard and Glenys were already there, had a
fire lit, and cold beer in the freezer = Perfect !
It was great to
catch up with them again and hear of all their adventures in, and on the way
to, Alaska. We had a really pleasant evening round the fire, Glenys cooked the
supper, and they also provided some good red wine- They can come to my campsite
anytime !! It was almost midnight by the
time we had finished all the wine, and felt it was time to call it a day !
While I slept, my
mind was obviously still working, because when I woke up I knew straight away
that my mind was made up – I was going to cut out the last part of my planned
trip up to Alaska, not fix the car but soldier on with no power, and head almost
straight over to my sister’s in Anacortes north of Seattle, and ship the car
home. I don’t feel there is any point in
importing parts, paying duty, having to find an (unknown) mechanic to fit them
to a car he doesn’t really know, and still not be 100% sure that the problem
was fixed. Anyway, that would take 3
weeks or more, by which time Alaska would be even more crowded in August, and
it would almost be time for me to ship home as per my original plans anyway
! And the main part of this trip was to
see Iceland, Newfoundland, Labrador, Niagara, and Indianapolis, and I have done
that – Alaska was just a fun trip at the end because I like the place so
much.. So after an initial feeling of
disappointment, I felt fine with that decision.
It is a bit of a bummer to end such an epic adventure on a bit of a
downer, but I really can’t complain after over 2 years of fun, adventure, and
virtually no mechanical or other issues along the way. Time to go.
Time to start thinking about the next adventure !!
There are a
couple of friends I want to see on the way back to Anacortes, and as they are
just down the road, I have a couple of easy days until I get there. So tonight finds me in the Mt Robson
Provincial Park in BC, with mountain and rivers all around. In the car park I bumped into German travel
buddies Franz and Hildegarde who I had met in Glacier NP, so we are neighbours
in the camp site tonight. 
I went for a bike
ride this afternoon way up a dirt road to check out a hike around the foot of
Mt Robson. It was really pleasant in the
sunshine until – As far away from the camp site as I could get on the trail, probably
3-4 kms, I got a flat tyre ! So I had to
walk back, carrying the back of the bike.
Someone seems to have it in for me at the moment – I wonder what the 3rd
thing is going to be ! But at least I
saw a deer on the road on the way back !
Tomorrow I am
just going to have another easy day, wandering down towards Vavenby where
friends Ed and Sarah live, and I will catch up with them on Monday.
So great meeting you tonight at North Thompson river provincial park. Kylie was telling her sister all about you and your travels. Take care.
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