Yukon Adventure Part 1: Skagway, Alaska

Not content with just showing me the amazing sights in the Juneau area, my aunt and uncle sent me on a four-day trip a little further north.  I borrowed their car, rode the ferry from Juneau to Skagway, drove from Skagway to Whitehorse (in Canada), then on to Haines Junction (also in Canada), then back to Haines (in Alaska) and finally, rode the ferry back to Juneau.  The days were packed full of adventure, so I'm dividing the trip into sections.  Here's a map of where I went:

The trip from Juneau to Skagway is actually entirely in Alaska; the border with Canada is about 30 miles inland from Skagway.  I caught the ferry out of Juneau at 8:00 am, shortly before dawn. Here's a picture of the ferry's wake as we left the docks in Juneau:

The ferry trip itself was amazing!  We were following the Inside Passage, which more or less follows the mainland coast of Alaska, but has huge mountain islands on the western side, protecting the shore from the open sea.  Here's a view to some of those islands as the sun comes up:

 And here's a view towards the mainland, with a glacier pouring out of the mountains:

And, just because I can't help myself, another view of the mountains to the west (I had about six hours on the ferry with nothing to do but take pictures - I think only showing four is an act of great restraint).

Arriving in Skagway I found a small town tucked in a valley.  It has a slightly touristy downtown (most of the stores are closed in November, but they cater to the cruise ships and other visitors in the summer months).  I didn't take any pictures of downtown, but on my way out of town I stopped by Dyea, the now-dead gold rush town one valley over.  The valley looks empty now:

 

But in 1898 Dyea was at the head of one of the major routes to the Yukon Gold Rush.  When I hiked around a little I found a few traces of the booming town that was here not too long ago. The cemetery is the only thing that is immediately recognizable: 

But if you look even closer (and have park signs to help you out) you can find evidence of the main street, docks, and warehouses.  Here's a picture of what's left of one of the big downtown warehouses:

Not much, huh?  But it really was a major gold rush town.  The Chilkoot Pass, which is up the valley from Dyea, was one of the big obstacles that hopeful prospectors had to cross on their way to the Yukon.  For example, it was an avalanche at Chilkoot Pass that filled most of the cemetery.  And the pass is the site of one of the most famous photos from the gold rush:

 All those ants are actually men hauling their equipment up the mountain.  The Canadian Mounties, whose customs station was just over the hill, required each person to have enough supplies (including food) for one entire year before they would grant admission to Canada.  That meant about 2000 lbs of supplies, and since the pass was too steep for horses or mules, each man carried is own equipment.  Most could carry about 50 lbs at a time, which meant that they made about 40 trips up the pass.  It took an entire day to hike up and then slide back down, so prospectors would spend over a month climbing the same hill over and over again.  Amazing!

A few years later a railroad was put through the next valley, and the trip to the Yukon got much easier.  Here's the White Pass Railroad:

From the railway station I headed up the pass (on a road, no trek up the mountain for me!) towards the Canadian border and the town of Whitehorse, Yukon!