{"id":518,"date":"2016-07-17T05:01:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-17T05:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/17\/on-the-klondike-gold-trail-in-skagway-alaska\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T04:59:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:59:36","slug":"on-the-klondike-gold-trail-in-skagway-alaska","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/17\/on-the-klondike-gold-trail-in-skagway-alaska\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Klondike Gold Trail in Skagway, Alaska"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\nTuesday,
\nJuly 5, 2016: Skagway, Alaska<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nOn the Klondike Gold Trail<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span><\/span><\/b>We had already
\narrived in Skagway by the time Llew and I awoke at about 6. 30 am. But since we
\nwere not scheduled to begin the packaged shore excursion we had booked online
\nuntil 10.00 am, we had a bit of time to kill before we set out for the day.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>After
\nshowering, we left to eat breakfast in the Lido
\nDining Room<\/i> where the choices are a- plenty. I have resolved to try
\nsomething new each day\u2014today I asked the chef to make me a custom-designed
\nomlette: shrimp, spinach, mushrooms and goat cheese with smoked salmon on the
\nside. It was awesome. I also ordered some freshly squeezed OJ for Llew and me.
\nHe settled for eggs over easy and decaff coffee. We could already see folks
\nleaving the ship for the day and walking along the bridge that took them into
\nthe city. We had no idea how far the city was from our cruise terminal\u2014so we
\nwere pleasantly surprised to discover that we could go back and forth in under
\nten minutes. A real boon that!<\/span><\/div>\n
\nExploring
\nSkagway on Foot:<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>It
\nwas about 8.45  am when we left our stateroom for a day that was filled with deep
\ninterest. First of all, the main street called Broadway that runs like a main
\nartery through the town has been beautifully preserved to serve as a tourist
\nattraction. We soon learned (from the self-guided Walking Tour we took later in
\nthe afternoon) that most of the historic buildings have been moved from other
\nparts of the city and brought to this main street. It is like a mini Disney
\nWorld\u2014each building is freshly painted in its original colors. Charming shops
\nline the road on both sides\u2014most of them are jewelry shops owned and operated
\nby Indians from India who spend 3-4 months of the year in pursuit of cruise
\nships. For the rest of the year, they literally close shop and head to the
\nCaribbean Islands looking for business from cruise passengers there. I chatted
\nwith a few of them and found them to be courteous and very gracious and not the
\nleast bit pushy. What\u2019s more, most of them offer a little charm simply for
\nwalking into their establishments. By the end of the day, I had collected quite
\na few of them and felt very pleased with myself. The charms are meant to be
\nworn on a charm bracelet and feature various symbols of the region\u2014whales,
\ntrains, bears, etc. <\/span><\/div>\n
\nA
\nBit of Skagway\u2019s Gold-Digging History:<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>And
\ntalking about trains, I ought to say that Skagway\u2019s heyday were the years 1898-1900.
\nJust two years put this town forever on the world map. It was in 1898, that a
\nman found a nugget of gold quite by accident while straining mud from a pan of
\ngravel. That did it! Word spread literally around the world and the Klondike
\nGold Rush began. The name came from the Klondike river that weaves it way
\nthrough the area in glacial green tones that are vastly appealing. <\/span><\/div>\n
\nA few of the early
\nprospectors (also known as stampeders) made a considerable amount of money on
\nthe gold nuggets themselves. Several made money from the business that sprouted
\naround gold digging such as hotels, selling apple pies to prospectors, laundry
\nowners, saloons for there was seriously nothing to do here except drink, gamble
\nand go whoring. Needless to say, whore houses did brisk business and when
\ndrink, women and especially money (to be made from gold) is at stake, a
\nfrontier town fills with gun-totting desperadoes who pull out their weapons at
\nthe slightest provocation. Skagway became rife with crime and as time went by,
\nits chief crook was one Jefferson \u201cSoapy\u201d Smith who ran a huge brazen operation
\nin gambling and prostitution with some good old-fashioned thieving thrown in at
\nthe side for good measure. He was the most notorious gangster of the bunch. Old
\nSoapy was killed in a real old-fashioned gun duel with one Charles Reid that
\ntook place right on the main street and a plaque today marks the spot where he
\nfell dead. Peace returned to Skagway and to the prospectors most of whom did
\nnot make a dime. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>Since
\nwe were supposed to pick up tickets from the Visitors\u2019 Center that is run by
\nthe US National Park Service (as the entire area is protected as a historic
\narea associated with the Gold Rush), we headed there first. We got tickets for
\nthe 2.00 pm walking tour that is led by a park ranger\u2014having booked them online
\nbefore we left home. With our tickets in our pockets, we continued our
\nexploration of the cute town popping in and out of the shops to pick up free
\ncharms or magnets or postcards. Then, with little time to spare, we made our
\nway to the Golden North Hotel <\/i>(no
\nlonger in use as a hotel although once the town\u2019s most famous inn) to pick up
\nour three-hour guided tour of the White Pass and Summit as well as the Yukon
\nTerritories\u2014for an exploration of Skagway is an exploration of its towering
\nsnow-streaked mountains and its curving hairpin roads that lead one into the
\nYukon Territory of Canada. <\/span><\/div>\n
\nWhite
\nPass and Summit Tour and Entry into the Yukon Territories:<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>The
\nGold Rush sprouted traffic on one of the most treacherous trails\u2014known as the
\nChilkoot Trail that originated from Skagway\u2014originally known only to the Tlingit
\nand Huna natives peoples who populated this region. As thousands of people
\nflooded the town to try their luck panning gold during what was a very
\ndepressed time economically around the world, the US government insisted that
\neach of them carry enough supplies so as not to starve on the trails. It was
\nstipulated that they carry a ton of supplies each\u2014needless to say, this meant
\nseveral trips up and down the mountains\u2014a hard enough task in the summer but
\nessentially the area is a series of killing fields in the winter. <\/span><\/div>\n
\nAfter a few months of
\ndealing with these wretched conditions, as a result of which many hundreds
\ndied, it was decided to build a railway line that would go over the White Pass
\nGulch to reach the Summit of the mountains that would then lead into Canada.
\nThe railroad line\u2014one of the grandest feats of Victorian engineering\u2014was
\ncreated in 2 years, 2 months and 2 days and continued in operation until the
\n1960s. Today, it is a huge tourist attraction for passengers can take joy rides
\n(for the pricey fee of about $400) along the same railroad all the way to
\nCarcross in Canada\u2019s British Columbia province. For those passengers wishing to
\nspend less (as in our case), you can take the 3-4 hour guided tour by coach
\nwhich follows the exact tracks of the train and enters the same territory. Ours
\nwas conducted by Frontier Excursions and cost us $65 for a four hour trip that
\nleft Skagway at 10.30 am and brought us back at 3. 00 pm. Needless to say, this
\nmeant that we missed our 2.00 pm ranger-guided walking tour, but we found a way
\naround it pretty easily.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>Our
\nguide was the lovely Jess (aka JJ) who proved to be a brilliant narrator and
\ntour guide. She talked continuously as she gave us a ton of information about
\nthe history, the topography, the vegetation, the building of the railroad, the
\nGold Rush itself, the development of Skagway. There was so much we learned on
\nthis trip from her. We left the town of Skagway, crossed the railroad lines and
\nthe creek and made our way into the mountains. From time to time, we stopped to
\nsee the train winding its way on the slopes\u2014its green and yellow head followed
\nby a long trail of brown carriages. There were also a number of waterfalls (and
\nwe stopped to take pictures at a few), great green vistas draped with Sitka (Alaskan)
\nspruce trees hung frequently with moss that is referred to as Old Man\u2019s Beard. <\/span><\/div>\n
\nWe had our passports
\nchecked at the US-Canadian border (a short and very painless process) and were
\nwelcomed to Canada\u2019s Yukon Territories\u2014which are the most remote parts of
\nCanada. In this area, we stopped for restroom breaks and hot beverages at what
\nis called the Yukon Suspension Bridge. Although we did not actually walk over
\nit (it costs $15 to do so), we got really close. After a ten minute stop, we
\nheaded further north towards Tushai Lake and Bennet Lake. The scenery was
\nspectacular, the mountain air was clear, clean and cool, peaks covered with ice
\nfollowed us everywhere and the silence of the area was amazing. We also made
\none stop at a Dogsledding place where two of our passengers hopped off to take
\na dogsled ride. This allowed Jess to bring in some husky pups into our coach
\nand we all had the chance to hold them\u2014a real thrill for us! We got a very good
\nsense of how awful the circumstances might have been for 19th<\/sup> century
\nprospectors and how brave (if not foolhardy) they were in risking their lives
\nto make a fast buck. <\/span><\/div>\n
\nIt was exactly 3.00 pm
\nwhen we returned to Skagway after a four hour inland journey that had taken us
\ninto Canada and then back into the United States\u2013where again the immigration
\nprocess was quick and simple.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>Alas!
\nWe had missed our 2. 00 pm tour and all slots were filled for the rest of them.
\nStill, we were not daunted (in fact, we were quite pleased) when the ranger
\ngave us a very detailed brochure that allowed us to take a self-guided walking
\ntour that followed in the exact footsteps of the tour guide. But since it was
\njust past three and we had eaten nothing since breakfast, we felt the need for
\nsome sustenance and decided to go back to our ship (just a ten minute walk
\naway) to get some food.  <\/span>It would be too
\nlate for lunch but Afternoon Tea could be just as substantial.<\/span><\/div>\n
\nAfternoon
\nTea on the Ship:<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>And
\nthat was precisely what we did. We headed straight for the Manhattan Dining Room<\/i> where Afternoon Tea was in progress. Of
\ncourse, they offered the full three courses and by fueling up on a number of
\nfinger sandwiches, scones with cream and jam and a selection of cakes, we had
\nourselves a really nice meal rounded off with lovely decaff Earl Grey. It could
\nnot have been a more welcome break. It was by then about 4. 00 pm and since our
\nembarkation time was 8. 30 pm, we had ample hours left to continue our
\nexploration of the town.<\/span><\/div>\n
\nTaking
\na Walking Tour of Skagway:  <\/span><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nBefore we began our
\ntour on foot of Skagway, we entered the National Parks office to watch a film
\nentitled \u2018Gold Fever: The Klondike Gold Rush\u201d–a 25 minutes documentary that
\nwas highly recommended by Lonely Planet<\/i>.
\nIt was a really superb introduction to the reasons why Skagway developed from a
\nonce sleepy First Nations People\u2019s settlement into a thriving center of
\ncommerce. It also set the tone for our walking tour that followed
\nimmediately.  <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\nThe self-guided tour
\nwas a lovely way by which to enter, visit or pause at the many historic
\nbuildings and architectural treasures of the town. We entered the old train
\ndepot and saw the old station house (now used by the National Park Services),
\nwe walked into the Red Onion Saloon <\/i>(once
\nthe most notorious house of sin), and the Mascot
\nBar<\/i>. We saw Moore\u2019s Cabin<\/i>, a log cabin
\nthat was built by one of the most successful prospectors, the army barracks
\nused during World War II when Skagway became an important armaments depot. We
\nsaw a number of interesting buildings that varied from simple log cabins to
\nfanciful Victorian dwellings. Most of the buildings have been moved from their
\noriginal venues so that the walking tour was very easy to do indeed. It took us
\nabout an hour and half, so that about 6.00 pm, we decided to get back to our
\nship as we were tired and foot sore and needed to do some serious relaxation.<\/span><\/div>\n
\nDinner
\non the Ship:<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>We
\ndecided to go for dinner early as we have at least a half hour wait if we go at
\n8.00 pm. At 7.00, we were easily seated in the Manhattan <\/i>and finding that the priest who has been saying Mass, Fr.
\nTimothy McCarthy, was seated alone at a table, we invited him to join us. He
\nreadily agreed and we had a really nice meal with him for company. He is an
\nIrishman who now lives in Vancouver. Now retired, he does about 3 cruises a
\nyear mainly for HAL where he serves as ship\u2019s Chaplain.  <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>It
\nwas Jacques Torres Evening\u2014meaning that today\u2019s menu was devised by the French
\npastry chef Jacques Torres who has a flagship chocolaterie<\/i> in Brooklyn, New York. Llew had the Venison Sausage Soup
\nwhile I had the Cheddar and Beer Soup (both were very good indeed). Since I
\nneeded a salad, I decided to have the Caesar Salad with anchovies (which was
\nalso very good) while Llew asked for a side serving of the day\u2019s main salad
\nwhich was one with grilled chicken, mango and varied veg. They brought him
\nalmost a full-size salad which he tried to share with me\u2014except that for a
\nlittle bite, I wanted none of it. I had my main course yet to come: the Yankee
\nPot Roast served with mashed potatoes, mushroom medley and roasted veg. It was
\nwonderfully tender and very tasty. Llew decided to have the Veal Tenderloin
\nwhich was equally good. I ended with the Baked Alaska made with rum raisin
\nice-cream\u2014nothing to shout about. Llew had the coffee fudge ice-cream. Throughout
\nour meal, we enjoyed interesting conversation with the good priest who kept us
\nboth amused and entertained.<\/span><\/div>\n
\nCountry
\nNight at the Piano Bar and Magic Showtime:<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nIt was time to get to
\nthe Piano Bar for a sing-song with Jimmy Maddox, the Piano Man. But he was
\ndoing songs with which we were not familiar and it was time to head off for the
\nMagic Show by Fred Moore in the main theater. It wasn\u2019t great and my eyes were
\nclosing. Clearly it was time for me to head back to my stateroom. Llew decided
\nto stay on while I adjourned to our stateroom where, a very short time later, I
\nwas fast asleep.<\/span><\/div>\n
\nUntil tomorrow\u2026                 <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday, July 5, 2016: Skagway, Alaska On the Klondike Gold Trail             We had already arrived in Skagway by the time Llew and I awoke at about 6. 30 am. But since we were not scheduled to begin the packaged shore excursion we had booked online until 10.00 am, we had a bit of time… <\/p>\n

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