The Chilkoot--the very mention of the name brings back memories of the gold rush. In 1897 and 1898 more than 100,000 dreamers came north, and more than 35000 of them crossed the Chilkoot Pass in their rush to reach the gold fields of Dawson City and Bonanza Creek. The came by steamer from Seattle and San Francisco, and hiked to Lake Bennett via either the Chilkoot Trail or the White Pass, each carrying almost 2000 pounds of supplies with them. Just 33 miles of land separate the tidewaters of Alaska to the Canadian headwaters of the Yukon River, a navigable route all the way to the Klondyke.
In 1998, 2002, and again in 2007 Troop 230 took on this adventure, following in the footsteps of the miners of yesterday. For the last expedition we had three hiking teams on this expedition, and they were given the names of ALPHA, BRAVO, and CHARLIE. Each had a unique adventure, different from the other. But all of us were blessed with good weather, very little rain, and only light winds. In our groups we each climbed the "Golden Staircase," and lived the adventure. Enjoy the photographs, and our memories. Sense the feeling and look at the remnants the miners left behind. Feel, look, and hopefully experience a touch of the adventure that was ours.
There were thirty of us in all, and together we traveled together for more than 1600 miles. We stopped for lunch, and pictures, and camped along the way. We crossed an international border six different times, and visited some really neat places, including Deadman's Lake, Klauna Lake, Haines, Tok, Skagway, Dyea, Whitehorse, and Takahini Hot Springs.
"There's a land where
the mountains are nameless, And the rivers all run God knows where; There are
lives that are erring and aimless, And deaths that just hang by a hair; There
are hardships that nobody reckons; There are valleys unpeopled and still;
There's a land--oh, it beckons and beckons, And I want to go back--and I
will."
--Robert Service from Spell of the Yukon.
The miners of yesterday arrived into Skagway and Dyea via steamship from Seattle. We did the modern day equivalent, traveling by ship and coming up the same inland passage once traveled by the ships of the later 1800's. In the towns of Skagway and Dyea the miners shopped, and partied and had fun before they hit the trail to the Klondike. We too enjoyed the tourist attractions, visiting the old graveyards, the abandoned town of Dyea and the fun little show that reminisced about Soapy Smith and the days gone by.
What we came for of course was to hike where the miners hiked, and to travel the trail they traveled. It's not any easier today than it was then, and the trail grabs you and grips you in a way you can never forget. Since we hiked the trail separately in individual teams, those images are placed on separate pages. Just click on the picture to see the pictures taken by the various team members.
ALPHA
TEAM
BRAVO TEAM
CHARLIE TEAM
[click on the pictures to check out the individual expedition teams trail
photos]