INUVIK - At midnight on June 21, four men will arrive at the Road's End Golf Course in Inuvik, but only three will tee off.

From left, Jim Thompson, Vic Zast and Dan Johnson will travel with their former golf buddy Mike Allen – who is dead and cremated in a lovely cherry wood urn – from Chicago to Inuvik to play the End of the Road Golf Course on June 21, the longest day of the year. - photo courtesy of Vic Zast

One of them is dead.

All 10 pounds of a cremated Mike Allen and his cherry-wood urn will travel along with his golf buddies Vic Zast, Dan Johnson and Jim Thompson on an epic road trip from Chicago to Inuvik. Allen introduced the men to each other, the four of whom golfed together every Saturday morning for 25 years until Allen's death from diabetes two years ago.

Why then, this 16-day trip through three time zones, seven US states, two provinces and two territories, and more than 6,500 km to golf at a course that only has three holes? Why not?

"We're doing it because we haven't done it before," Zast, the instigator of the trip, said. "And we're the kind of people who like adventures."

Zast came out of open-heart surgery and someone had given him a book in which the character drives to Inuvik. While it wasn't the main part of the book at all, it stuck with him and inspired him to make this trip.

"It struck me as very romantic," Zast said. "The open road and the long distance intrigued me."

The long distance did more than just intrigue his wife. She insisted he not go alone and so he asked his two golfing buddies. When they found out about the golf course, it seemed natural to bring along Allen to complete the foursome.

"He was divorced and his ex-wife was in charge of his ashes," Zast said. "She was keeping them in a corner of a closet and had to dig him out for us. I'm looking at him right now and he's listening to us."

While all this might seem a bit morbid, the men have an incredible sense of humour and appreciation for life. They appreciate their loving families, relatively steady health and are financially stable. This trip embraces the spirit of their friend's life and infuses their own with a kind of joy and adventure.

"There will be much conversation about Mike on the trip. We miss him, but we don't lament him. He lived a full life, too," Zast said. "Mike's spirit is often a source of joy. He was carefree, often making mistakes in judgment. And those memories of him behaving oddly are with us."

The foursome won't be alone on the long drive North. A film crew will travel along to document the story. As Zast started talking about the trip, more and more people said it begged to be made into a movie. Add a chance meeting with a graduate from the Northwestern University film school, who also happened to grow up North of 60 in Norway, and the film became a reality.

The documentary, to be called Our Longest Drive, will follow the men from Chicago on June 4 and across the continent as they visit Mount Rushmore, Banff and Skagway, Alaska, before arriving in Inuvik on, hopefully, June 19.

The longest road trip Zast has driven was Chicago to New York, a mere 10 hours, though the traffic was likely a bit heavier than on the road to Inuvik. The biggest concern for the group is that last 700 km: the epic Dempster Highway, killer of tires and tester of tire irons. The men, all in their sixties, are not the most outdoorsy and have health problems themselves, though none as severe as Allen's.

But the danger is kind of the point.

"As you age, you want things to go slowly, but they do just the opposite," Zast said. "You have to take on risks because you never know how much time you have to do them."

In three weeks the foursome will travel from one of the largest cities on the continent, to Inuvik, only a few degrees above the Arctic Circle, but many degrees north of Chicago. For Zast, the places in between will carry a certain beauty for all their difference.

But there will be differences of opinion inside the car as well. Despite the friendly Saturday morning games, Zast said all of the travellers have political views that differ from each other and likely from their Canadian counterparts.

Thompson and Johnson question climate change and think it might be contrived by politicians. The chance to speak with people who live in the Arctic and perhaps see the changes first-hand might provide them with an opportunity to explore these views.

"Not only are we different from each other," Zast said. "We're different as Americans."

The crew should arrive in Inuvik on June 19 and spend a few days around town before they fly out after their round of golf on June 21.

"We're very excited to go there and have very little idea of who we will meet," Zast said. "I hope they like us when we get there and that we can be friends."

You can follow their journey north at their website: ourlongestdrive.com

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