Yukon Ho!
We began our Yukon expedition with the White Pass Railroad tour to follow in the footsteps of the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush.
The initial “Stampeders” as the prospectors heading into the Yukon were called, would take a steamship from Seattle to Skagway. Due to the number of those unprepared for the elements in northern Canada, the Canadian Mounties required all those heading into the territory bring 1 ton – a year’s worth of food and other supplies – all of which had to be hauled up the side of a mountain, through either Chilkoot (shorter but steeper) or White Pass until they reached Bennett Lake. Getting one ton of supplies up the mountain meant multiple journeys up and down 3000 feet of elevation, creating a cache near the top, often defended by another stampeder who alternated turns on the treacherous trek. The trail was so crowded, there was no place to stop along the way. Some tried to use pack animals, but the poorly trained, unfit horses and donkeys often died on the trail or jumped off the cliffs to stop the abuse. Over 3000 animals died, nicknaming the White Pass trail “Dead Horse trail”. Getting supplies over the pass was just the beginning. Once they reached Bennet Lake, stampeders constructed “boats” and rafts to continue another 500 miles along the Yukon River to Dawson City, navigating multiple rapids – including Class V around the town of Whitehorse. Some gave up, some used their entrepreneurial spirit and started businesses supplying food and entertainment, but many more died from the elements, exhaustion, landslides, and disease. All told, over 100,000 stampeders started the journey between July of 1897 and early 1898, only 30,000 made it to Dawson City.
The White Pass railroad came late in the story, the 20-mile journey to the summit was built between 1898 and Feb 1899, as the gold was being tapped out for the small guy. The train provided access for supplies and a safer route for families joining the settlers in the booming territory. The rail eventually extended to Whitehorse, another 90 miles inland. It was a vital supply line for the construction of the Alaska Highway during WWII, and continued as essential infrastructure until the early 1980’s. Now, it takes thousands of tourists up through the pass for breathtaking views (when the weather is clear), and for the hiking crowd, you can arrange to get off the train to hike sections of the pass. Our tour was supposed to let us off at the Canadian border, but with COVID, Canadian customs no longer allows this, so we did the round trip up to the pass and back to Skagway to get on our tour bus.
We met Bridget, our guide for the weeklong Yukon/Denali tour at the bus, and Tiana our first bus driver/guide, along with the 40+ other travelers in our group.
We had a brief rest stop in the town of Carcross, where a small riverside beach was crowded on the “warm” sunny day in the upper 60’s.
We continued on to Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon. Whitehorse is a metropolitan city of 35,000, with very good restaurants and breweries, a thriving art scene, and caters to those interested in being active – numerous hiking and biking trails for all levels of fitness, up to the very adventurous and willing to tackle Class V rapids.
We only had one night in Whitehorse before reboarding the bus and on to Dawson City. The drive covers many picturesque areas, including going by the infamous Lake Labarge.
Dawson City sits at the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers, and the center of the Klondike Gold Rush. In August 1896, with the first rumors of gold found in the area, the entrepreneurial Joe Ladue built the first log buildings to provide a base for tired stampeders. Within 2 years, those log structures became clapboard houses, churches, banks, taverns and hotels. By 1900, the city boasted graded roads, sidewalks, electricity and telephone service. The Dawson City of this era is what is preserved today, with modern twists to entice tourists to separate from their money. From Diamond Tooth Gertie’s casino and dancehall
to the Sourdough Saloon – the home of the Sourtoe cocktail. At some point in the past, a guy lost his toe to frostbite in the 1920’s and preserved it in moonshine after it was removed. The toe was rediscovered in the 1970’s and the cocktail was born. The toes in use now (there are two in rotation) have been donated by other unfortunates. The toe is placed in your choice of shot (you pay for your shot of liquor plus $10 “toe tax”), take the oath as administered by the Captain of the Toe, and drink your liquor – you must let the toe touch your lips, but not put it in your mouth. (The fine for swallowing the toe is $2500 – and the Captain verified that yes, he had seen someone swallow the toe.) In return you get a certificate that you are now a member of the Sourtoe Cocktail club, and your name is placed in the books. Over 100,000 people are members.
John and I decided against membership.
Instead, we decided to hike up The Mound – the rounded mountaintop behind Dawson City. Finding the initial trail took a brief side trip (which helped us later) – due to brush, you can only see the trailhead sign from one direction – opposite the one we faced. The hiking trail criss-crossed over many bike trails, and though generally marked, the transitions were often unclear. Nearing the top, we were on a bike trail (luckily, we did not come across any bikers coming down the 30-40 degree grade).
As we reached the top of the mound, our hearts sank. We saw cars. It turns out, there is a road to the summit.
Which was fortuitous. John and I had a debate about the hiking trailhead down – the one he wanted was very steep-I would have to slide down. I chose to walk down the road. It was a lot longer in mileage, but much easier on the knees.
Next stop – a flight to Fairbanks, and on to Denali!