Hiking Back Through History
May 3, 2006
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| A montage of the trail, then and now... Photo by Paul Nickodem |
We got up early so we wouldn't miss the good views going over the pass. The trail went up for about five miles, getting steeper as we went. It was just beautiful— lots of hanging glaciers, snowfields, some huge raging streams, and lots of old gear as we reached the base of the pass. It was hot going over, as the sun was blasting off all the snow and we weren't getting any wind in the deep ravine.
The last bit of the pass is called the Golden Stairs because in 1897 some guys carved steps in the snow for the Gold prospectors and charged the poor adventurers to go over them! They were all melted for us so we had to scramble over steep, loose rocks. Finally I stumbled over and took in the magnificent view all the way back to Skagway. The day was unbelievably clear.
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We then headed down through all the hanging snowfields where all the avalanches have happened. It was way too warm for that snow to slide today. We climbed down and down, over many rivers and frozen lakes. I took a break at Happy Camp and waited for Galit. She showed up and we decided to push on for Deep Camp, which was another 2.5 miles. She had to get back the next day and we didn't want to push our luck with the weather. I ate like a madman after all those hard fought miles!
Hiking on the snowfields really takes it out of you, and the sun baked us good too. All tired out, we crashed early after washing up with water from the headwaters of the Yukon river. We got going early the next day for Bennett. The trail next to the river gorge was breathtaking, and became a real up-down-up-down slog in hot temps. I was dying as I finally rounded a small hill that overlooked Bennett and the lake in front of it. I shuffled into the train depot, threw my pack down and fell on top of it. It was another beautiful day, and we just sat there and watched the clouds dance over the lake and mountains well into the Yukon as we waited for the train to take us back to Skagway.
By Paul Nickodem
