Golden Staircase

 

 Day 11

    We awoke early and had a great breakfast of oatmeal, banana and toast with peanut butter. This is the first excursion into Alaska and one that we have greatly anticipated.  We are taking the narrow gauge Yukon and White Pass Railroad from Whitehorse to Skagway.  We will be retracing the steps of the Sourdough miners from 1898-1900.  Jim’s grandfather was one of them.

   A little explanation about the train trip from Whitehorse.  It did not start there, we bought our tickets at the train station and were told that a bus would pick us up at the campground and take us to the train at Fraser, about 75 miles away.  Not what we thought.  We were expecting to catch the train right at Whitehorse, but oh well. No big deal, just not what we were expecting.

Bording the Whitehorse and Yukon Railroad

    Bus picked us up right on time and off we went.  Next stop was what we had as possible alternate RV park about 5 miles south of Whitehorse.  Bus picked up about 30 more passengers and we were off to the train.  Not just any passengers but a group of Australians’ that were on a similar adventure to us.  They picked up their motor homes in Seattle and would drop them off in Anchorage.  From Anchorage they would bus to Seward and board a cruise ship for the Inside Passage trip.  Talk about a complete package!

    Turns out that they we had been seeing them all along the ALCAN for days.  Good natured and an indication of how far flung the people we were meeting and were to meet on this expedition.  Great train and bus companions.

Funny, they don't look Australian

       Very interesting bus trip.  Great conversation with Australians, Bus driver did a very good job narrating what we were seeing and what we were about to see.   Bus would have 2 rest stops before we met train. 

    First stop was at Emerald Lake for photo opportunity.  Very cool lake that was still partially frozen over.  No sweat we could still see the lake color.  Beautiful Emerald green very reminiscent of Emerald bay in Lake Tahoe.  Apparently there was something in the glacial silt that provides the lake with its startling color.

   2^nd stop was at a small town named Carcross.  We were invited to get out stretch our legs, see the visitor center to get our passports stamped, then on to the Carcross bakery for guess what?  No not a Cinnabon, although they advertised the world’s best Cinnabon, we opted for a sled dog.  A sled dog is basically a hot dog wrapped in a sourdough crust and baked with cheese on top.  Think of giant pig in a blanket.    Store owner admitted he came up with it because American tourists loved hot dogs and he needed something a bit more special.   It was really good, particularly with mustard on top, would be better with good Dijon or honey mustard.   I want to try with a Polish dog.  Still an excellent treat.

Not so fast Buster. You didn’t think American Border Patrol and Homeland Security were going to let you into America that easy did you. Outcome the passports, Border Patrol walks down the aisle and makes sure passports are legitimate and let us go on. THAT is a job I want. Chilkoot pass, watch the animals, talk to people, look at passports every hour or so and go on about your business.

 

 

 

    Back on the bus after 30 minutes and on to the train.   It was about another 25 minutes up the road.   When we arrived, we had to stay on the bus for about 5 minutes while they cleared the train of previous passengers.   We were assigned our own car and got settled in for the train ride over the pass and into Skagway.  


         I will not hang out the window again

     

                                                         Ok, but just one more time

    

  Off we go over the Chilkoot pass.  Stunning vistas of huge mountains with lots of snow and occasional views of the bay at Skagway.  The Train goes along a leisurely pace for safety and also to give us time to absorb what we are seeing.  There is a tour guide giving a narration of the various high points along the way.  Where the stampede was that killed over 300 men and 200 horses and mules, where toll road was built and so on.

    There are actually two passes that come up out of Skagway and on over to Whitehorse, the Chilkoot trail and the White Pass.  One reporter in 1899 tried to determine which one was the easiest by climbing both.  His conclusion?  There better be a lot of gold found to make either one worthwhile.  Both were extremely difficult.

    Miners, or Sourdoughs as they were called, cut steps into the wall of the mountain to make it easier to climb.  In order to get into Canada, the Mounties required each miner to have a 1 year’s supply of provisions, totaling about 2000 pounds.  Even with a pack animal, the normally meant about 9-10 trips.  The steps were nicknamed the Golden Staircase because of the difficulty and times it took to climb them and what was possible beyond.

Way off in the middle is Skagway and the port

Just how steep is it?

    The train ride was relaxing, exhilarating and downright fun.  Old time passenger car that allowed us to step outside and stand on the platform between cars.  Very cool to take pictures from.  Around corners you could see to the end of the train and up to the engine.

    Finally arrived at train station in Skagway.  Unique old time rail station with wooden platform and wooden bench seats.  Train station is right downtown part of the main street of the town.  Port with cruise ships was across an open area and as a means of measurement, about 2 blocks away.  Town is very attractive with vintage architecture and it is very clean.  

Trail marker for 1898 trail

     Skagway has about 800 permanent year around residents and now relies upon tourism as its main industry.  An industry that has about a 3 month season.  Today, there were 4 cruise ships in port, dispensing as many as 8,000 passengers into Skagway.

                                                              Pretty downtown Skagway.

     We were allocated 2 hours in town before we boarded our bus for the trip home.  Our Excursion was bus /train to Skagway and bus back.  Highway was on other side of the canyon from the train, so we got to see everything from a different perspective.  Highway was a very good road, so good in fact that we saw one of our fellow GAH adventurers with their motor home in Skagway.   Still like the train trip.

   Our bus ride back to Whitehorse was uneventful but not boring.   Scenery is spectacular and never ending.   We stopped once again in Carcross (beginning to look like a conspiracy) to stretch our legs and oh by the way, have you been to the Mercantile and seen the Alaskan made goods?   Ok, so we are suckers.  Went in and purchased a small amount of local Alaskan made goods.  It was spitting snow a little bit so Irene had Mint Chocolate Chip and I had Pralines and Cream.

    Boarded the bus and completed the trip back to Whitehorse.  After about another hour of riding we were ready to have some down time.  Total of about 8 hours sitting on bus or train and we are tired.  Got back to our RV and took a long walk around the campground to try and stretch our muscles just a bit.

  We were a little surprised at the size and urban appearance of Whitehorse.  I guess with our memory of the Yukon territory as told through Jack London, movies and lore, we expected to see a frontier town. 

       Whitehorse is both the Capitol and largest city in the Yukon Territory.  It is very modern with a permanent population of about 28,000.  What was most shocking to us was that Whitehorse is a premium International destination for primarily Europeans that want to climb mountains and spend time in the pristine outdoors.  On leaving the next morning, as we were driving on the north end of town, we were very surprised to see a Lufthanza Boeing 747 landing.  About 75 feet above our heads.