Blogs from Skagway, Alaska, United States, North America - page 11

If you are ever in Alaska, on a cruise for example that takes you up the Inside Passage coast to Skagway, then try to do yourself a favor and book a tour to go dog sledding that day! Worth the expensive trip (as they take you on helicopter atop a glacier) and choose to do the snow dog sledding instead of one on wheels in a dirt road. That is how (I am told) the Alaskan huskies train during the Summer (both on snow or on dirt) so that their owners can take them later in March to the Iditarod race out of Anchorage. So, the dogs are used to entertain tourists during the Summer for top dollar. This particular day of September (end of season), the helicopter left on a very windy day out of ... read more

Well we made it. We are now in Alaska and have been here for about a week. The last time I left you we were in Vancouver B.C after just leaving the Sunshine Coast and heading up to Clearwater to meet up with Jared's Kayaking buddies for a B.C. whitewater tour. And, tour it was, I don't think I saw so much white water in all my life. One of the guys had a raft and so I was able to ride down some pretty amazing rivers while Stan did all the work. :) The water seems much bigger when you are right down in it. (did I mention I fell out of the raft?) Thank god for good kayakers to rescue me! :) After we left the Clearwater, we headed to Quesnel Forks to ... read more

My cruise adventure continues in the small town of Skagway. In winter the town of Skagway only contains 700 residents but during the summer when the tourist swarm the town the population explodes. Most of the summer workers have to live in a tent camp in town and pay 300 dollars a month for an 8 x 8 ft spot. Well finally the famous Alaskan rain caught up with us in Skagway with a cold steady rain. In Skagway I boarded the White Pass and Yukon Railroad to 6 miles to hop off with the hiking group to hike several miles on the Denver trail. The hike was fabulous with a river running besides the trail. The hike went through an old growth forest with massive sitka spruce trees all around. There was still some ... read more

So here we are in Skagway, AK- finally at the end of our motor-powered journey, and on the cusp of beginning a longer, human-powered journey: the culmination of two years of planning and preparation. A brief recap of the past two weeks..... we left off with our arrival in Olympia, I believe. We spent six wonderful days in Olympia, WA, and in the course of that time, managed to completely overtake Meg and Cary's house and garage with expedition gear and food. Without their help and hospitality, we probably wouldn't have pulled it all together! We took some time to spend catching up with friends- dinners together, and a day of hiking, birding, and photography in the Olympic National Forest. As the week wore on, we increasingly put our noses to the grindstone, so to speak, ... read more

Worry is a waste of the imagination.___Bob Tait July 4, 2005, Monday. Skagway is where we begin the third leg of our journey, the Road Trip North. No more ferry rides, we begin driving and driving and….but, first let’s see Skagway. By way of background regarding Skagway, the headlines read “Gold! Gold! Gold!” on July 17, 1897 broadcasting the new of the discovery of gold in the Canadian Klondike. Tens of thousands of gold crazed men and women steamed up the Inside Passage waterway and arrived in Skagway to begin the overland trek to the Klondike. Six hundred miles of treacherous and dangerous trails and waterways lay before them. Some prospectors chose the shorter, but steeper Chilkoot Trail, which began in Dyea. Each person was required to carry A TON of supplies up the “Golden ... read more