The Chilkoot Trail

In july 1897 word reached San Fransico and Seattle that there was a lot of gold to be found in Alaska and the Yukon. The news brought on a stampede of prospectors to Alaska, most of them having no clue what kind of hardships they were getting into.

The Klondike Stampede may have reached a population of 40.000 in 1898 at it's maximum, a number that is hard to imagine when you realize how quick the cities boomed and what was achived.

In less then two years all those prospectors passed the seas, mountain passes and rivers to reach the Yukon River and Dawson City where the biggest and last gold rush was centered.

After sailing from San Franciso or Seattle, the stampeders had to travel over the Chilkoot pass, or choose the White pass which was ecually horrific.

The White pass is transformed into a rail and drive-road these days. While the Chilkoot is still a walking trail now only used by well equipped back packers who are trying to sniff the history and hardships of the man gone before them.

Along the trail you find old relics of the rush more then a hundred years ago and it's indeed hard to imagine that those people build whole tent cities in the forest (with stores, blacksmits, saloons, restaurants and hotels) in such a short time and for only one or two years. I still wonder how they hauled up all the equipment and supplies.

If people wanted to travel over the pass into Canada they had to carry one years supply, almost one ton, with them. For their own safety.

After this 35 mile, 56 km, climb they would reach Lake Lindeman or Lake Bennett where camp would be made and the building of rafts would start.

When the ice was braking the boats and rafts took off down the Yukon river and its adventures, for the last 500-plus miles, 800-plus km, up to Dawson City, where.......most stakes were already clamed.

Most man came to work for others or tried to find their own riches in rivers further and deeper into the interiour.

So this is how I traveled into Alaska for the second time. I started my hike on the Canadian side, didn't register for the hike or the entree into another land because it was way to much money ($90 or so) and 'sneaked' over the boundary into the USA.

Skagway is the town that evolved when all prospectors arrived at the base of the Lynn Canal. This town today is a tourist destination to buy gold and learn about our peoples history. The houses are old western style, saloons are still to be found, but year round locals not so much.

That's where the last photo of my previous journal was taken.

In the last cabin on the trail I dropped a huge log on my toe, and it didn't look very jummy when I finally took off my shoe that afternoon. But all good, nothing hurting and more surface damage then bones. I was getting excited straight away with the future outlook to loose a toe nail. I have never had that happen and my curiousity was full on. I made a secuance of photo's over the next weeks, for anyone who is interested how that goes.

Here in Skagway I bought myself a tea and met Buck, 24. He offered me his shower and it turned into a few days of evening entertainment and conversation exchangement.

Playing Mancala in the bar, meeting his work mates (all living in the same building) and being invited on the train up the mountain. Normally a cruiseship activity that cost you $98. Boy was I ever lucky again.

It was this train that brought me a wonderful gift.

The first evening Buck and I had been talking about music intensly and I had decided to hitch back to my car and come back to Skagway (again another 'end' of the road) to download tons of cd's on his computer. Three days later Buck comes home with a found I-pod. Someone had left it in the train, didn't claime it, so it was for grabs, and because he already had two, it was mine! Wow, a 4GB, $200 I-pod, and I just needed to press the botton on the computer to have all my music ripped to it. Life works so funny.

The road brought me in the same direction as the Klondike Gold Rush. On our way to Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon. Two lovely sunsets and a shoppind day where I spend a lot of neccesary money. My old shoes were history, water was seeping in and my toes didn't feel free anymore. The new ones are ugly, but fit fantastic.And then............. I lost control............