I drove an Impreza 2.5rs from Florida to Alaska

**Chris.K** · 10-30-2009 03:04 AM

(Now with 2012 Update on the last page)

In Brief
I joined the Army and got stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska. I gave up my plane ticket for a travel stipend and decided to drive there.

I looked around for information before I set off, and kept running into conflicting reports about the Canada/Alaska Highway bit. Many people were saying it was nearly impassible, rubbish. Most of that driving was exceptional, save for the unplowed, narrow parts of the Yukon, with steep cliffs to the left and frozen lakes to the right with no guardrail and 17 inch summer tires, hundreds of miles from anything it might be summer until I'd be found. So the trip was from Florida, but not directly to Alaska, I went to some parts of the country I'd wanted to see...and to anyone planning this trip, do it, it was amazing.

8500 miles covered, 8 vanilla milkshakes, 2 oil changes, 2 hitchhikers, 3 hotel rooms, 10 days traveled, avg speed of 59.5, max speed 125 mph, 6 car washes, 3 audiobooks, 0 tickets or police stops, 15 states, best MPG was 29, worst 22, avg of 26 mpg.

In Canada where I'd run out of black and white film

There were lots of gas stations, but getting north, about 3/4th were abandoned.

Old Route 66 stray dogs

Can't stop here, this is bat country

Mulholland raceway, the best part of the trip.

National Triumph car club meeting/autocross, held on a Thursday? I guess you can't have a job and own a British car.

Florida on the left, Alaska on the right

Not in much order I'm afraid.

If anyone has been to this Cafe, it's quite a hike/tumble down the cliff to get to the ocean

You can't drive to the Golden Gate and only take one photo

New Orleans

real western

Irony

You might think you want to drive across America off the interstates and main highways, but some of the main highway is incredible.

Old Route 66

First thing I did arriving at the west coast

When traveling cross country, do remember your dental hygiene.

Quite a shakedown for a car I had just bought a week before.
I also had no spare tire, cell phone or passenger.

Modified by Chris.K at 11:47 PM 11-3-2009

**Spa_driver** · 10-30-2009 03:12 AM

You sure did it right.

**H. Stark** · 10-30-2009 03:12 AM

So awesome.

**J-Tim** · 10-30-2009 03:12 AM

Great photos, thanks for posting!!

Oh, and you look a bit like Tim Roth

**Brendan540** · 10-30-2009 03:14 AM

Awesome trip. My longest has only been from San Fran through the desert southwest.

Great looking Subby. I'm not the biggest Subaru fan, but that one really does it for me.

**Potter** · 10-30-2009 03:19 AM

Screw airplanes. I just flew home from SFO on Monday and it took a $30 bar tab to get me on the plane.

EDIT: Love the Golden Gate picture what camera are you using?

Modified by Potter at 12:21 AM 10-30-2009

**Wimbledon** · 10-30-2009 03:23 AM

Quote, originally posted by Chris.K »

I can't tell you how many times I've sat on that overlook...

Great write-up and photos, thanks for sharing.

**blarghsid** · 10-30-2009 03:27 AM

fantastic. your photography is great. your car is better.

god i love gc8's.

**Chris.K** · 10-30-2009 03:33 AM

Quote, originally posted by Potter »

what camera are you using?

I used an old Nikon N90s film body, I wanted to buy something digital for the trip but I had all this tri-x black and white film leftover and digital seemed too easy and too common. I missed a lot of great stuff, but I think film worked out pretty cool.

**mk_ultra** · 10-30-2009 03:36 AM

must have been such a bad ass experience. Thanks or sharing with us

**94glx** · 10-30-2009 03:37 AM

epic........

**Ay_Caramba** · 10-30-2009 03:38 AM

I probably don't even drive 8500 miles a year and it's more impressive as it seems like you did it by yourself.

So can you really see Russia from Alaska?

**x_Diesel_x** · 10-30-2009 03:54 AM

This is most fitting..

Also, great pictures..

Just wondering.. did you calculate the total expense?.. Will the 'per diem' for PCS travel stipend cover it?.. And did you also ask for POC mileage allowance?..

**compakt** · 10-30-2009 03:56 AM

nice thread

**MVZOOM** · 10-30-2009 03:59 AM

Umm, quick Q - how does the GC8 RS differ from the WRX in for the US market? Is is turbo / 4wd etc?

The US market didn't get a GC series WRX, right?

Cheers - Mike

**Chris.K** · 10-30-2009 04:05 AM

Quote, originally posted by x_Diesel_x »

Just wondering.. did you calculate the total expense?.. Will the 'per diem' for PCS travel stipend cover it?.. And did you also ask for POC mileage allowance?..

I received about $2500 all together, which isn't as much as I'd hoped for but still about twice what I actually spent.

Quote, originally posted by MVZOOM »

Umm, quick Q - how does the GC8 RS differ from the WRX in for the US market? Is is turbo / 4wd etc?

The US market didn't get a GC series WRX, right?
Cheers - Mike

Right, it's a 2.5 NA engine from the Legacy, the hood scoop is non functional besides looking pretty good. It's AWD, but no turbo models in the US, except all the awesome STI swaps.

Modified by Chris.K at 1:08 AM 10-30-2009

**x_Diesel_x** · 10-30-2009 04:10 AM

Quote, originally posted by MVZOOM »

Umm, quick Q - how does the GC8 RS differ from the WRX in for the US market? Is is turbo / 4wd etc?

The US market didn't get a GC series WRX, right?

Cheers - Mike

US didn't get a WRX till the 2002 'bugeyed' GD..

The USDM 2.5RS performance model was powered by the naturally-aspirated 165 bhp (123 kW; 167 PS) 2.5L DOHC engine mated to the same AWD drivetrain as elsewhere plus added larger brakes, borrowed from the Legacy.

**Chris.K** · 10-30-2009 04:17 AM

Quote, originally posted by x_Diesel_x »

US didn't get a WRX till the 2002 'bugeyed' GD..

The USDM 2.5RS performance model was powered by the naturally-aspirated 165 bhp (123 kW; 167 PS) 2.5L DOHC engine mated to the same AWD drivetrain as elsewhere plus added larger brakes, borrowed from the Legacy.

SOHC in the later models like mine, don't know why exactly

**x_Diesel_x** · 10-30-2009 04:32 AM

Quote, originally posted by Chris.K »

SOHC in the later models like mine, don't know why exactly

Evolution of the EJ25 engine..

and just $2500?.. how many days did they authorize you?.. did you also get the mileage?.. seems like you did but they just acknowledged the one not part of the 'scenic' route.. how much did you deviate from the shortest/fastest route?..

**GodSquadMandrake** · 10-30-2009 04:41 AM

Awesome trip. When did you make the trip? I know you didn't do it this week because it's been snowing like crazy and on those tires you wouldn't have made it!
Some people who have made that trip have told me that around Tok on the border between Candada and Alaska the roads are the worst. They are always under construction because of the permafrost shifting and destroying the road. So the winter time is actually the best time to travel it because the roads are smoother and they don't get frost heaves.

Here's some of my Alaska pictures from the snow this week:

I highly recommend a set of something like this for your car:

They don't really plow the roads on base or in town that well and they don't use salt. So ice build-up especially at intersections is a huge problem and it never melts all winter. So the snow isn't as big of a deal as the ice which is different from anywhere else in the lower 48. That's why the studs are so important because nothing else helps as much on the ice. Even with blizzaks last year I was sucking at the icy intersections.

**CJ318** · 10-30-2009 05:59 AM

great post(s)

**WhitePoloCT** · 10-30-2009 07:21 AM

Great pics! My favourites:

**al@absolute** · 10-30-2009 07:40 AM

that's one trek that i plan on doing in my lifetime.

**intercedeGLI** · 10-30-2009 07:43 AM

Bravo!

**GsR** · 10-30-2009 07:49 AM

Quote, originally posted by Chris.K »

Quite a shakedown for a car I had just bought a week before.

Dude, you got some big brass ones....

**Mike!** · 10-30-2009 07:52 AM

These pics make me realize ten years later how much I still want a Blue Ridge Pearl 2.5 RS.

Great trip!

**megaDan** · 10-30-2009 08:04 AM

Quote, originally posted by J-Tim »

Great photos, thanks for posting!!

Oh, and you look a bit like Tim Roth

Exactly what I was thinking......especially the tim roth part

**VMPhil** · 10-30-2009 08:17 AM

Great Pics. definitely one of the Better threads this month.

**mujjuman** · 10-30-2009 08:20 AM

that looks sooo cool

**trb02jtta** · 10-30-2009 08:24 AM

Awesome trip, something I plan on doing shortly

What time of the year did you do this?
And did you do the whole trip on summer tires?

**nm+** · 10-30-2009 08:30 AM

Epic. Looks like a colder version of driving across the outback.
Buy a block heater.

**Fisherson** · 10-30-2009 08:31 AM

Great pictures, man. Also, I'm totally jealous of your trip. Seems pretty amazing. Also, no cop stops?! Also, brilliantly done average speed, I try and keep mine close to that when I go from Chicago to Jersey.

**kevster03** · 10-30-2009 08:33 AM

Wonderful photography. Good luck in Alaska, my grandparents lived in the Yukon for a few years in the late 70s/early 80s

**jay3737** · 10-30-2009 08:44 AM

excellent thread. being a photographer and subaru owner also, i definitely appreciate your taste in both areas!

edit: definitely seeing the tim roth comparison (LOL)

any other examples of your photography? definitely digging the overall feel and your use of composition on a lot of the shots...

Modified by jay3737 at 8:46 AM 10-30-2009

**feels_road** · 10-30-2009 08:50 AM

VWVortex

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