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HIKER'S JOURNAL

Chilkoot Trail Backpack Trip, August 2009

In the winter of 1897-1898, 20-30,000 prospectors crossed the mountains above the towns of Skagway and Dyea, Alaska, over one of two trails en route to the gold fields of the Klondike region of the Yukon Territory; the shorter trail was the Chilkoot Trial from Dyea.  WNC assembled in Juneau whence we took the Alaska Marine Highway (ferry) to Skagway.  After making our last-minute preparations, we drove over to the site of Dyea, and the head of the Chilkoot Trail.  We were chauffeured to Dyea by a Arden from Juneau, who found, as the date approached, that he would have to join us only on day-hike components of our trip.

In summer, the Chilkoot Trail is noted for rainy weather on the Alaska side of the mountains.  Rain that fell on our hike was but a light drizzle.  The mostly overcast days with mild temperatures were just perfect for hiking up the gradual, consistent climb from Dyea up the Taiya River valley to our first camp near the ruins of Canyon City—a short-lived trail town.  At the Canyon City campground, we met several of the cohort of around 40 people with whom we would share the hike on subsequent days of our trip.  As we left our first campground, we stopped to visit the ruins of Canyon City.   This trail town had had enough wooden buildings that one could explore the remnants of town buildings.  Canyon City was also where one of the aerial trams that hauled goods over the Chilkoot Pass, for a fee, took on freight.  The boiler that powered the tram is still lying where it was abandoned.  Old cables and pulleys of the tram were visible there and along the trail for the next 10 miles.   We continued our hike past the site of the trail town Pleasant Camp to our second camp site at the site of Sheep Camp—a short-lived, but surprisingly large trail town that been mostly tents.  Those tents included 16 hotels, 14 restaurants, 3 saloons and a hospital.  Today, the town site is grown over, largely with Devil’s Cane (as thorny as it sounds), and finding any evidence of the former town requires searching.

Sheep Camp is the last stop for most hikers before climbing the steepest part of the trail, up to the pass.  Like most hikers, we retired somewhat early so that we could start our next day at 4am.  Hikers are advised to leave Sheep Camp by 6am to ensure that they clear the area closest to the pass early in the day before the risk of an avalanche becomes too great.  Last spring and summer, the weather in the mountains had been cool and snow had persisted longer than usual.  We took the posted avalanche warnings seriously.  After our steady 1500 foot ascent up Long Hill, we came to The Scales where prospectors had to weigh their goods and pay their packers the fee for the final climb over the pass.  Equipment abandoned by prospectors is visible on the ground here.  Here, we faced the famous 30-degree slope that is the final 1/3-mile ascent up 2000 feet to the summit of the pass.  (This is the site of the gold-rush picture on some Alaska license plates.)  Our day was overcast and foggy, limiting visibility, but we had little rain to impede the slow, challenging climb up to the summit.  At the summit, we stepped from large rocks of the pass onto the snow pack that would constitute our trail for the next several miles.  The temperature here was about 45 degrees and we guessed the wind was blowing about 40 miles/hour.  We stopped for lunch at the welcome warming shelter provided by Parcs Canada.  At this point, various members of the hiking cohort (WNC and others) checked up on each other to make sure no one had been misplaced.

From the summit, we faced the last 5 miles of our 8-mile day.  About half of those miles were on snow pack, and so most of the artifacts of the gold rush were buried, but hikers who have hiked the trail more than once told us that the walking was easier on the even surface of the snow.  We passed the stone crib that had anchored the northern end of the aerial tramway and the stone docks that a teamster had built so that he could haul freight across Crater Lake to his wagons.  The trail continued on mostly level grade to our next stop at Happy Camp—named because it was a welcome stop on level ground.  The wind we found at the summit was still blowing, but less fiercely.  Hikers in the cohort that included WNC were arriving here from 4pm to 10pm.  The long days meant that everyone was in camp by dark.

Leaving Happy Camp, we walked through the square-profile Coltsfoot Canyon, to Long Lake and then to Deep Lake, which made for a nice lunch stop.  From Deep Lake to our next stop, the trail was again below tree line and the sun was shining.  Artifacts, including the metal skeleton of a folding boat and the frame of a sled, were visible along the trail, which skirted a very dramatic canyon most of the way to Lindeman Lake, our next stop.  Our campground at the site of Lindeman City was in a beach setting framed by blooming fireweed, at the end of the 4-mile long lake.  This had been the site of a town of 4000 during 1897-98.  Botanists have estimated that it will take 200 years for all the trees cut during the gold rush to grow back.

On our last hiking day, the trail left the sandy lakeshore to traverse some scrub forest to the beautiful Bare Loon Lake.  (The loon wasn’t bare; the fellow who named the lake was skinny dipping when he heard the loon.)  After lunch in this picturesque spot, we continued through hardwood forest near Lindeman Lake toward our destination.  The last mile passed a prospector’s cabin and then followed a surprisingly sandy ridge that reminded us of hiking on the outer banks.  The welcome site through the trees of the Bennett church told us we had arrived at Lake Bennett for our last camping night.  We compared notes with other members of our hiking cohort and explored the town site. 

On the day we returned to Skagway, we had lunch at the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad depot, sitting in a real chair, eating off dishes that clinked, and enjoying not having to cook over a camp stove for the first time in several days.  The narrow-gauge WPYRR has been described as an engineering wonder for the steep grades and tight curves that had to be built.  Our ride on the WPYRR back to Skagway took us over the White Pass, the alternative route over the coastal mountains to Lake Bennett. 

We had decided to include time to explore other local features, and so after a welcome night in Skagway, we took a ferry to the nearby town of Haines.  We were rejoined in Haines by Arden for a drive up the Chilkat River valley and through the dramatic St. Elias Mountains to the border of the Yukon Territory.  We also had the opportunity to watch a grizzly bear fishing near the edge of town. 

We returned to Juneau on the state ferry.  Our trip included the opportunity to watch whales bubble fishing.  This is the technique by which they blow a net of bubbles to herd fish into a small space and then swim up through the fish with mouths wide open.  The ferry captain called the whales to our attention, and most passengers were in the right place to see 4 or 5 whale mouths simultaneously emerge from the water as they scooped up fish.

On our last day in Juneau, we took a day hike at the edge of town to see the broad, blue Mendenhall Glacier.  We appreciated how big is was when some hikers passed us and then became small spots of color when they hiked out onto the glacier.  Before heading back to the car, we were treated to “Mendenhall Margaritas,” made with ice from the glacier.

We left Hole in the Wall on a trail that is known to be precarious in snowy weather and made our way to Brown Pass, spotting a foraging black bear and mountain goats along the way.  We stopped for lunch at Lake Francis, where the fish just jumped into the frying pan for our lunch with minimal encouragement.  On our final backpacking day, we hiked toward Goat Haunt, along the way meeting a pair of retired park ranges who were hiking the perimeter of Glacier N.P. for enjoyment, but also to report conditions to the Park Services.  Rain clouds caught up with us at Goat Haunt and so we took the boat ride to Waterton, where we indulged in showers, pizza, and sleeping on beds for a change. 

Waterton Lakes park offers the opportunity for a popular day hike to Crypt Lake, which occupies a hanging valley high above Waterton Lake and has no visible outflow.  We took that hike the next day, starting out in snow that fallen overnight. 

Having traveled to the Many Glacier area of Glacier park the next day, we hiked along Lake Josephine (likely named for an area prostitute during mining days) where we spotted more loons and mountain goats just before sunset.  Creeks entering Swiftcurrent Lake offered more fishing opportunities.

Our trip back to West Glacier took us around the east and south sides of the park, where we were saw a number of beaver dams and lodges.  From West Glacier, we retrieved our lonesome rental car from Kintla Lake, stopping from delicious baked goods in Polebridge, miles from any town where one would expect a bakery, and stopping again to wet more fishhooks.  Our last hike took us back into the park for a walk up to Avalanche Lake, which lies in a glacial cirque and is fed by 7 waterfalls that begin on the mountain ridge above.