Skagway, Alaska - 12 June 2016

Skagway is a beautifully restored Gold Rush town (Alaska gold rush, not California’s; our ship store was a bit confused – it was selling Gold Rush shirts with the date 1849 on them.) It is now actually a part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Park. Some of the buildings are National Park owned and hold historical items and descriptions of the building’s history. Others are tourista stores (way too many jewelry stores to my liking). Found a very nice quilt shop on one side street though.

Our excursion at this stop was a narrow gauge train ride up to the Yukon Summit which is at almost 3,000 feet. The train is owned by the same company that initially built the tracks and took the prospectors up to the summit. Now it takes tourists on that same route. This route replaced the footpath that thousands of gold seekers used in the 1898 timeframe to reach the goldfields of the Yukon. Skagway was one of two entries into the Yukon Territory from the U.S. The train route was finished within two years of the start of the rush and replaced an extremely difficult multi-month trip with just a few hours on a comfortable train trip. Canada required all incoming prospectors to bring with them one ton of supplies, so they were forced to make multiple trips on the footpath before the train came. It is a fascinating story of what the lure of gold can do to people.  Most were ill prepared to face the tough climate of the Yukon and almost none had mining experience.  All but just a few came back broke or died in the Yukon. They had to hike 45 miles over the mountains to get to Lake Bennett, then build a boat for themselves and their supplies and float that boat 555 miles down the Yukon River to the gold fields. We saw Lake Bennett and the Yukon River 5 years ago when we visited Alaska with our trailer. Many prospectors drowned because they didn’t know how to build a proper boat, swim or navigate a wild river.

We were privileged with another beautiful day of weather and had wonderful vistas as we climbed and descended the mountains. After the train trip, we stopped in town for a quick walk around. We come back this way on our southbound trip and will take more time to explore the town.

The train actually pulls up to the cruise terminal to pick up passengers.  The railroad has several engines to use, including a steam engine over 100 years old that they still use on occasion.

 

This resident takes getting ready for winter quite seriously.  Look at all that wood ready for the stove!

 

Russ spent most of his time outside taking pictures from the open air part of the car.

 

The Gold Rush cemetery, about a mile or so out of town. Many of the occupants came from the town during the Gold Rush when the little town grew to 10,000 residents with 1,000 prospectors passing through each week.  Lawlessness was rampant with lots of drunken brawls and shootings.

Don't worry, we didn't use this bridge. It was replaced by the one in the photo below in 1969. When this bridge was built in 1901, it was the tallest railroad bridge of its kind in the world. It is one of the reasons that the White Pass Railroad was designated an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (other landmarks include the Panama Canal and Eiffel Tower.)

 

 

This is the boundary between Canada and the U.S. The current station that is actually used is a few miles up at a spot that was more accessible.

 

The Skagway River.

 

 


 

 

The wildflowers were beautiful.

 

Partway up the route, we had a good view down into Skagway and the Lynn Canal.

 

In 1922, a wealthy coal baron by the name of George Buchanan fell in love with this part of Alaska and sponsored trips for young boys. In appreciation, the boys, now grown to men, painted this sign. It is now maintained by Skagway volunteers.

 

I really made use of our new binoculars and spotted several groups of mountain sheep.  Unfortunately, none of our cameras had a long enough lens to capture them.

 

Across the gorge from the train tracks, a state road follows the same path up to the summit and into the Yukon.

 

Bridal Veil Falls cascades over 5,000 feet before joining the Skagway River.

 

The view straight down is pretty sobering as we cross the Glacier Gorge and enter a long tunnel.

 

 

 

We could see glaciers hanging off the distant mountains.

 

 

Rounding Slippery Rock, the train kept pretty close to the mountain side. The route was built by men who had failed as prospectors and needed money in order to get back home.

 

Entering a tunnel just after crossing this rather tenuous bridge was exciting. At one point, it felt like the car was hanging over the gorge with nothing below it, that was how steep the turn was.

 

 

You can see, on the left, the railroad line, while on the mountain furthest back is the road.

 

 

Some portions of the original trail can still be seen.  It was said that the route was littered with thousands of dead horses who had died from beatings, starvation and overwork. The prospectors, many of whom did not know how to take care of a horse, bought them down in Skagway for exorbitant prices (they were shipped from Seattle where they had originally been destined for the glue factories), and then used them ruthlessly to cart their supplies up the trail. The area is known as Dead Horse Gulch.

 


The summit area and beyond is filled with basins of melted snow water.



 

During the building of the railroad, blasting dislodged a 500 ton piece of granite, instantly crushing two workers and their pack horses. The boulder was unmovable, so they erected a simple black cross on the site. The boulder stretches the length of this pictures - it was huge!.

 

 

 

When we returned to town, we did a quick walk about the downtown area. Interesting western Victorian designs.

 

 

This design is original to Alaska, it is made from driftwood and is the best example of the style in the country.

 

 

Several of the stores proudly displayed signs stating that the owners were third or fourth generation Alaskans. I suspect this is to encourage tourists to spend their money in places that support the local industry.

 

 

This guys had a beaver fur top hat and tootled around town in his 1960 Nash Metro, giving rides to pretty girls.

 

 

 

This is Rotary Plow Number One. Over 100 years olds, it is still used occasionally to clear track during the spring. During the winter, the plows had to clear drifts that were often taller than themselves.

 

This statue commemorates the Gold Rush. It depicts a young dandy being led by a local Native American over the pass. It was interesting to note how each person prepared themselves. The clothing and gear of the dandy was ill chosen for the harsh environment he was entering whereas the Native American carried a lighter load with more practical utility.

 

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We had a nice commentary on the geography of the area as we sailed away from Skagway. The line in the water shows the delineation between the cold dense saltwater of the canal and the lighter, glacial silted fresh water from a waterfall entering the Canal. It takes a while and a bit of distance before the two types of water are mixed together.