In August of 1896, a man named Keish, who was a member of the Tagish First Nation, discovered gold in the near Dawson City in the Klondike region of Canada’s Yukon Territory. While the world did not have the technology that we have today, once word got out that gold had been discovered there, the region became a hot place to be: The Klondike Gold Rush had been born.
The thing to note about that part of the Yukon Territory is that it was a little difficult to get to. First, there were the mountains. There were two main ways to get there: Either the Chilkoot Trail, which was arduous, or the White Pass Trail, which was a lower altitude and overall easier to use (relatively speaking). Once you got over the mountains, then you’d need to sail on Bennett Lake to get to Dawson City. Let’s not forget all the equipment you’d be bringing with you, too.
If you were one of the prospectors coming from the lower 48, you would still need to secure a ship ride from Seattle or San Francisco to Skagway, Alaska. Skagway was the start of the difficult journey to get to the Klondike. The whole thing was difficult but from 1896 to 1899, over 100,000 prospectors took their chances. This was the backdrop for our port visit to Skagway, Alaska.
Skagway became important to the maritime industry in that part of the world. It is a rather small town, but it was very nice and the people were friendly. We disembarked the ship at around 7 a.m. and took a bus to the train station. Our bus was supplied by Alaska Coach Tours. Our driver Dwight informed us that he was dropping us off at the train station and he would meet us up the pass in Fraser, BC. After about 30 minutes of getting passengers situated, we embarked on a historic ride.
The route is splendid. It’s a lot of history to give, so I’ll simply link the map. Enjoy these pictures:
They don’t even do it justice. Once we were on the pass, the weather, as you saw above, turns arctic. We even saw a Caribou but I missed getting a picture of it. The line goes all the way to Whitehorse, YT which would get you even closer to Dawson City, but we got off the train at Fraser, BC.
After a quick passport check, we met back up with Dwight. He gave a humorous and insightful narration as he zipped us through British Columbia to one of those “stations of the cross” as an explorer of the regions in the cold north: The Yukon sign.
I grinned like the Cheshire Cat. When you grew up in a small town and dreamed of traveling the world, you dreamt of doing things like this. Cell Phone reception for hours on end? Not a bit. Drenched from the rain? You betcha. Tired from jet lag, time zone changes, and waking up early for this excursion. Sure. Who cares? This is a life that was only a dream two decades ago!
After saying we’d been to the Yukon, we made our way back into British Columbia. The Yukon swinging bridge site was also the host of a meal of bison chili. It was great.
My wife and I also got to chat with Dwight. He was from New England and served as a ski patroller in the Air Force. He also did time as a ski bum in Utah way back when. And now here he was, doing the touring season in Alaska. Hell of a life.
We eventually let him eat in peace and went to check out the bridge and park. Full disclosure about the bridge: After a couple of steps out, I went “nope” and turned back. My wife, ever the braver one, went on and I supported her from the sidelines.
I decided to simply explore the park and learn about the local history. Also, they did passport stamps and if you filled out a postcard you could send it from here (with Canadian postage, I think).
On the way back, we had one more stop to make, and this one was also neat. Given the remote location of Alaska, most people don’t road trip in and out of the state, which means that there are very few welcome signs. Thanks to Dwight, we spent time at one of them.
We then made our way back down the mountain. It was a fun and informative ride, and then before we knew it, we were back in downtown Skagway. We decided to explore the town and we were still a little hungry. We went to Skagway Brewery. I had my heart set on the reindeer hot dog, but they don’t offer it anymore, so we had their fish and chips which are popular as well. It was pretty darned good.
We spent the rest of the time exploring the town. It is beautiful, but not much more to do as a tourist. We said goodbye to Skagway and headed back to the ship.
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