Whitehorse, YT and Skagway, AK

On Monday, August 18th we drove the Klondike Highway from Dawson City, YT to Whitehorse, YT (the capital of The Yukon).  Along the way we got good views of the Yukon River.  In this picture you can see what is called the five finger rapids.  When the early prospectors came thru here, they had to get over to the far right side to safely continue up the river.  If you went thru the left side, you would beach your boat.  If you went thru the middle, the rapids would take over and capsize your boat or raft.

As usual, very scenic along the way.

We arrived in Whitehorse, found our campground, and got set up for a few days.

Saw this bus in our campground:

Very interesting.  The back part of the bus is where everyone sleeps.  It is 3x3x6 feet. Looks like it could hold around 25 people.  During the day you ride in the front section that is just like a bus.  We did see them in Fairbanks as well and they were all out preparing a meal at their campsite.


On Wednesday, the 20th, the four of us took a tour to Skagway.  It consisted of taking a bus (right from our CG) to a town called Frazer.  We crossed the border from YT to AK where we boarded a train that would take us the rest of the way.

FYI - not our engine!!

The ride was very scenic as you can see.

In 1898, at the start of the gold rush, the prospectors' journey began here when they climbed the mountains over the White Pass above Skagway and onward across the Canadian border to Bennett Lake, where they built barges and floated up the Yukon River to the gold fields around Dawson City.  Others disembarked at nearby Dyea, northwest of Skagway, and crossed northward on the Chilkoot pass.
Officials in Canada began requiring that each prospector entering Canada on the north side of the White Pass bring with him one ton of supplies, to ensure that he didn't starve during the winter. This placed large burden on the prospectors and the pack animals climbing the steep pass.

The "Golden Stairs" were 1,500 steps carved out of the mountain ice.  Stampeders moved up the narrow stairs in a single line, clutching the rope balustrade, carrying their goods on their backs, 50-60 pounds at a time.  The workers who had carved steps into the ice also charged travelers to ascend the mountain, as the travelers had to use their stairs.  The term, 'stampede' was laughable in such crowded, slow-moving conditions.  A single trip up the "Golden Stairs" could take as long as six hours.

Our train continues drown thru the pass.

At this point you can see the Skagway harbor.

As we get closer, you can see the cruise ships.

 

An abandoned gold dredge along the way.

We reached the Skagway rail station.

One of the main streets in Skagway.

 

Cruise ship in the harbor.

HUGE!!

Two other shps across from the Norwegian.

Snow blower used to keep the tracks open.

We only had a couple of hours in Skagway so we had some lunch and then walked around some.  With 3 cruise ships in town, the streets were extremely crowded.

For the ride back to Whitehorse, we took a bus.  One of the stops was at a place called Carcross, so named because caribou originally crossed thru this area twice a year according to the prospectors who passed thru here.

It is now a popular stop for all the tours.  

We enjoyed this trip to Skagway and back.  If you ever get the opportunity to visit Skagway (via cruise ship, etc), you should definitely do so.