Haines and Skagway

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At the northern end of the inside passage taken by cruise ships and the Alaska Marine Highway System (ferries) is a narrow fiord. On the west side of the fiord sits the town of Haines, and on the east side lays Skagway. These towns originated in the late 19th century as jumping-off places for those adventurous souls seeking their fortune in the numerous gold stampedes. From Skagway they made the arduous climb over the White Pass into the Yukon Territory and the Klondike Gold fields. From Haines the trail led to the Alaskan mining areas of Fairbanks and beyond.
These towns are only a few miles apart by boat, but over 400 miles by road, and they are as different as night and day. Haines, while it has bars, restaurants, etc., has retained the feel of a real “old Alaska” fishing village. The locals are proud that their town has remained unspoiled. Skagway, on the other hand, is a major stop for the cruise ships. With 3 or 4 of these behemoths each unloading several thousand tourists a day, the predictable result is that the downtown area is just one souvenir shop after another housed in new buildings designed to look old. This is not what we came to Alaska to see.
We had a very nice stay in Haines, relaxing and watching the fishermen compete with the brown bears and eagles for salmon. It was amazing how fast the fishermen could clear the riverbank when a bear appeared. It is fascinating to watch these huge animals, and surprising how fast they can move. They seem oblivious to the people nearby, and are concentrating on the fish. It’s frightening how close some people will get in order to take pictures. These are the ones you read about in the newspaper. After a few days we loaded the RV on the ferry for the short but beautiful trip to Skagway. Three of the four cruise ships in the harbor were loading when we arrived, so the town wasn’t crowded. We spent about an hour walking through the shops there, and then made the climb up the same trail the old miners did back into the Yukon Territory of Canada. Our stay in Alaska is now over, except for a short visit next week to Hyder, a remote little border town on a spur off the Cassiar Highway in the southeastern corner of the state.

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