This June, I finally accomplished something Ive been wanting to do for years. Myself, along with Mike, and 4 other friends, hiked the 33 mile, 4 day Chilkoot trail, in S.E. Alaska. The trail starts near Skagway AK and ends in Bennett, British Columbia. The trail traces the same route the gold seekers took during the famous Klondike Gold Rush at the turn of the Century. To give a bit of history:
In 1897, the steamship Portland steamed into Seattle carrying a ton of gold from the Klondike. This sparked the Yukon gold rush. Over the next 3 years 100,000 gold seekers would make there way from Dyea in southeast Alaska into the Yukon Territory via one of two mountain passes. Of those, only 1000 would ever make any money... only 200 would strike it rich. Ironically, those 200 who struck it rich had already done so upon the arrival of the Portland's news in Seattle in 1897.
Today, Alaskan locals and tourists alike, still make the journey by foot.
Kristin named us the "Chill-Kooters" because, of course, every great team must have a name.
We did the 33 miles in 4 days, 3 nights. The trail was incredibly well maintained and set up for backpackers, from beautiful campsites complete with wooden tent platforms, to bear boxes & poles. All the campsites had a covered area for cooking and one had a little cabin for communal cooking/hanging out. I believe there were only 2 other groups on the trail at the same time as us, but you would really only encounter folks at the campsites; we could hike many hours without seeing anyone.
To see the trail profile, check out this link
And here is a map
The 1st leg of the trip was Juneau to Skagway via small (too small for my taste) plane. We spent the night in Skagway, where we watched the requisite bear safety video at the trail center and then enjoyed a pub crawl.
Day 1 was a long 12 mile trek, without much elevation gain. We stayed at Sheep camp, where there was a nice ranger to tell us about what to expect for the next day (considered the hardest leg) and settled in, looking forward to climbing the Pass.
Day 2 (8 miles) started bright an early at 6:30 am, in order to assure that everyone was up and over the Chilkoot Pass before there was significant warming of the snow (read avalanche danger). It was amazing to think about the gold miners hauling all their supplies over the Pass (they did use pack animals and sleds w/ a winch system of course, but they carried a lot of weight on their backs as well) Just below the Summit there is an area called the Scales; anyone going over the pass would have to stop here and weigh their gear to make sure that they had the requisite 1-year supply of 1000 pounds (they made 20 to 30 trips) They were forced to leave some behind if loads got too heavy. Next was the "Golden Staircase" to climb over the Pass; not a staircase at all, mind you, but a huge chute of boulders. At the top we were treated to gorgeous views, the Canadian flag at the Ranger station and some very cold temps!
We trekked for a few more hours through some gorgeous scenery; a wide bowl with snow-covered peaks all around. We had lunch in the most perfect setting, and then trekked on to finish at Happy Camp. At Happy Camp we met some Canadian hikers who had done the trail 4 times and said we lucked out with the weather. They had encountered rain every time they had done the trip. We were very grateful.
Day 3 we hiked 8.5 miles to Bare Loon Lake, despite Ranger warnings of a Brown bear having been spotted. On the way we visited Lindeman City which had been the end of the hike for most of the stampeders. The tent city was transient "home" to 4000 prospectors who would camp here long enough to build boats which would haul their goods across Lake Lindeman to Lake Bennett and into the Yukon River.
Day 4: A very leisurely 4 mile walk to our trail end at Bennett, B.C. to catch the Yukon/White Pass train back to Skagway. We got rained on a bit on the last day, but I dont think any of us minded much. In fact, I dont think we were ready for the trip to end. The train took us over the Yukon Pass. It was a stunning train ride despite the low clouds we encountered for most of the journey.
Once back in Skagway, we congratulated ourselves on completing the trek by drinking many beer at the local brewery! Zoltan, Kristin, Amy and Tara headed back to Juneau by plane and Mike and I stayed another night in Skagway, choosing to head back to Juneau by ferry the next day. We enjoyed the V.I.P. treatment only given to daughters of favorite retired ferry captains (thanks, Dad) and Mike was thrilled to spend time on the bridge with Captain Acter and the crew.
Overall, an amazing backpacking experience. I think we would all agree that we would do it again!
