diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index 517eb9920..19f037bb3 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ group :development, :test do
   gem "cucumber-rails", "1.5.0", require: false
 
   # Jasmine (client side application tests (JS))
-  gem "jasmine",                   "2.5.2"
+  gem "jasmine",                   "2.6.0"
   gem "jasmine-jquery-rails",      "2.0.3"
   gem "rails-assets-jasmine-ajax", "3.3.1", source: "https://rails-assets.org"
   gem "sinon-rails",               "1.15.0"
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index 0236aa5a0..50486ca8d 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -310,12 +310,12 @@ GEM
       i18n-inflector (~> 2.6)
       railties (>= 3.0.0)
     ipaddress (0.8.3)
-    jasmine (2.5.2)
-      jasmine-core (>= 2.5.1, < 3.0.0)
+    jasmine (2.6.0)
+      jasmine-core (>= 2.6.0, < 3.0.0)
       phantomjs
       rack (>= 1.2.1)
       rake
-    jasmine-core (2.5.2)
+    jasmine-core (2.6.4)
     jasmine-jquery-rails (2.0.3)
     jquery-rails (4.3.1)
       rails-dom-testing (>= 1, < 3)
@@ -798,7 +798,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   handlebars_assets (= 0.23.2)
   http_accept_language (= 2.1.1)
   i18n-inflector-rails (= 1.0.7)
-  jasmine (= 2.5.2)
+  jasmine (= 2.6.0)
   jasmine-jquery-rails (= 2.0.3)
   jquery-rails (= 4.3.1)
   js-routes (= 1.3.3)
diff --git a/spec/javascripts/app/app_spec.js b/spec/javascripts/app/app_spec.js
index 01e49e5f3..378ab84f3 100644
--- a/spec/javascripts/app/app_spec.js
+++ b/spec/javascripts/app/app_spec.js
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
 describe("app", function() {
+  afterAll(function() {
+    Backbone.history.stop();
+    app.initialize();
+  });
+
   describe("initialize", function() {
     it("calls several setup functions", function() {
       spyOn(app.Router.prototype, "initialize");
@@ -109,6 +114,10 @@ describe("app", function() {
   });
 
   describe("setupBackboneLinks", function() {
+    beforeEach(function() {
+      Backbone.history.stop();
+    });
+
     it("calls Backbone.history.start", function() {
       spyOn(Backbone.history, "start");
       app.setupBackboneLinks();
@@ -126,7 +135,6 @@ describe("app", function() {
 
       afterEach(function() {
         app.stream = undefined;
-        Backbone.history.stop();
       });
 
       it("calls Backbone.history.navigate", function() {
diff --git a/spec/javascripts/app/views/header_view_spec.js b/spec/javascripts/app/views/header_view_spec.js
index 3bf13978f..cdf3fedc8 100644
--- a/spec/javascripts/app/views/header_view_spec.js
+++ b/spec/javascripts/app/views/header_view_spec.js
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ describe("app.views.Header", function() {
     loginAs(this.userAttrs);
 
     spec.loadFixture("aspects_index");
-    gon.appConfig = {settings: {podname: "MyPod"}};
     app.notificationsCollection = new app.collections.Notifications();
     this.view = new app.views.Header().render();
   });
diff --git a/spec/javascripts/jasmine_helpers/SpecHelper.js b/spec/javascripts/jasmine_helpers/SpecHelper.js
index 67d167c16..9d790cb36 100644
--- a/spec/javascripts/jasmine_helpers/SpecHelper.js
+++ b/spec/javascripts/jasmine_helpers/SpecHelper.js
@@ -72,6 +72,24 @@ beforeEach(function() {
     };
   };
   /* jshint +W121 */
+
+  // add gon defaults
+  window.gon = {
+    appConfig: {
+      chat: {enabled: false},
+      settings: {podname: "MyPod"},
+      map: {
+        mapbox: {
+          enabled: false,
+          /* eslint-disable camelcase */
+          access_token: null,
+          /* eslint-enable camelcase */
+          style: "mapbox/streets-v9"
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    preloads: {}
+  };
 });
 
 afterEach(function() {