We spent a few days in Skagway, doing a little bit of sightseeing, mixed in with a little bit of rest and a little bit of catching up the trip journal. We took one day on the White Pass & Yukon Railroad, which I will put on a separate page. So things will not quite be in chronological order here, but they will be in a more logical order.
The Gold Rush
During the Gold Rush of 1898, there were a lot of routes that people took to get to gold fields. In this area, people sailed north up the Chilkoot Inlet and then had to choose one of two ways across the coastal mountains. They could take the shorter, but steeper route across Chilkoot pass, or they could take the longer, but more gradual slope across White Pass. In this terrain map, you can see the dividing line where they had to choose one side of the mountain or the other.View Larger Map
Skagway - A Different Kind of Gold
The city of Skagway was born of the 1898 Gold Rush. Prospectors who wanted to take the White Pass route landed at what is now Skagway. Starting as basically a tent city, it quickly grew into a boom town.
Nowadays, the gold rush in Skagway comes in by way of cruise ship. It is basically a tourist town, with all the jewelry, knick-knack, and t-shirt stores that go with it.
Yep, a couple of tourists...
But there is history mixed in there as well. Buildings in the historic district may be selling jewelry and souvenirs instead of food and mining supplies, but they have maintained the vintage look in most of the buildings.As part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Park, the Park Service has restored some of the downtown buildings, though I am not sure which ones other than the restored depot that serves as their visitor center. They also have a nice museum covering the gold rush
Red Onion Saloon inside and out
Dyea
The town of Dyea was the start of the other route across the mountains. Before the gold rush, it was a small trading post town, which provided access to the Yukon via the Chilkoot Trail. It became a boom town in 1898, but within 5 years, the town was pretty much dead. It was not the gold rush that killed Dyea, at least not directly. When the White Pass & Yukon railroad was completed, it naturally became the preferred means of travel. With Skagway becoming the center of transportation, there was no more reason for Dyea.We drove up to where Dyea used to be. There was no town left, but there were some nice views along the road.
Look at these huge clumps of pine cones.
Tidal Flats
Slide Cemetery
Near the remains of Dyea, we stopped by the Slide Cemetery. There had been heavy snows for a couple weeks. Locals and natives warned people to stay off the trail, but many of the miners did not listen and forged on anyway. On April 3, 1898, there was a huge avalanche, which buried about 100 people, most of whom died.
Gold Rush Cemetery
Skagway had an old cemetery as well - here you can see the graves of some of the famous - and infamous - city residents.
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