Alaska Adventure Day 5 Skagway Gateway to the Klondike

We docked in Skagway at 7:00 AM. Since our first excursion wasn’t scheduled until early afternoon, we got our regular coffee delivery and decided to try the “Belgian Waffle” bar for breakfast. Covered with berries and whipped cream, they were the perfect way to start the day.

A Bit of History:
Skagway has a colorful history. Named Skagway, “land of the North Wind”, it became the largest city in Alaska within ten years. In 1896, gold was discovered in the Yukon and within two years, tens of thousands of “stampeders” passed through Skagway using the White and Chilkoot Passes to reach the gold rich Canadian Yukon. This meant hiking 20 miles, climbing nearly 3,000 feet – carrying at least a year’s supply of provisions with them—often in blinding snow at temperatures of -50 degrees! And, once they made their way through the mountains, they had a 600 mile trek across the Yukon’s frozen terrain to the Klondike gold fields.

By 1898, Skagway had a population of 20,000 and the Gold Rush had brought a lawless way of life to the town. There was virtually no law – the Canadian Mounties had no jurisdiction- and the gold rush brought its share of saloon keepers, gamblers, prostitutes and unsavory characters. Ships would often dump supplies on the beach rather than risk docking in the port. The city tells the story of Jefferson “Soapy” Smith, the most notorious of these characters. He was known for charging local businesses fees for “protection”; extracting exorbitant sums to “store” prospectors gear and then selling it to others; and offering telegraph services to new arrivals- at $5.00 a message—although Skagway had no telegraph lines. He was eventually killed in a gunfight and buried in the local cemetery.

Skagway Today:
The town was spared the fires and earthquakes of other frontier towns and today still has some of the original buildings. The town itself is only 7 blocks long –and has 42 jewelry shops! Once again, the cruise ship industry takes its’ toll. With only 850 year round residents, the cruise ships fill the streets with tourists.

Climate:
Once again, we were facing 60 degree, cold and damp weather. Annual precipitation is 27 inches, snowfall of 50 inches. Average summer temps are 60 degrees.

Exploring Skagway:
It was a 5-10 minute walk from the ship to “downtown” Skagway. We did our own “walking and shopping” tour of the main street. The old Mascot Saloon, dated 1898, has been restored by the National Park Service and gives you an idea of what a saloon looked like in the Gold Rush Days. Mom found the most beautiful red “Alaska” jacket- very tasteful.

We had to stop at the Red Onion Saloon—originally a dance hall and brothel. They still serve drinks over the same mahogany bar and the waitresses wear dance-hall outfits. Next door was a Lila dream house—the Arctic Brotherhood Hall, built in 1899, with a façade made up of 20,000 pieces of driftwood.

Time for the White Pass Railroad – a narrow gauge railway with vintage cars. They took off at the cruise ship docks – and were filled to capacity – all 14 cars (and 4 diesel engines to pull them). It follows a route carved out of the side of the mountain by an American/Canadian engineering team, completed in 1900 after the Klondike Gold Rush was over. It’s been designated as an international Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (one of only 36 world engineering marvels). The trip takes 3-4 hours, climbs from sea level to almost 3000 feet at the summit – a total of 20 miles. 35,000 men worked on the construction of the railroad and it truly gave you a sense of the obstacles that the early prospectors faced on their trek to the Yukon. The train travels through two tunnels, glacier fed waterfalls and overhanging rock ledges, not to mention some amazing turns. We passed “Dead Horse Gulch”- where 3000 pack animals died from exhaustion trying to carry the supplies for the prospectors heading to the Yukon.

When we got back to the ship, we were starving- but didn’t want to ruin our dinner. So, we called room service and got a fruit and cheese plate delivered to our room- and had a mini-happy hour.

Dinner was, once again, wonderful. Shrimp cocktail for Mom, Grilled Jalapeno Cheese Polenta for me, Pumpkin Veloute (soup), Caesar salad, Pasta Chimayo for Mom, Roasted Filet of Pork for me.

Entertainment that night was Cirque Du Soleil – 30 minutes of acrobatic acts and amazing juggling.