CHILKOOT TRAIL

The Chilkoot Trail is a 33-mile (53 km) historic trail through the Coast Range that starts in the ghost town of Dyea, Alaska, west of Skagway. It goes to another ghost town, Bennet in British Columbia (Canada). Gold seekers could then embark on Lake Bennett to reach Carcross and then Whitehorse, Yukon. This is exactly the route taken by the budding writer Jack London, who left Dyea on August 14, 1897 to arrive at Lake Bennett almost a month later, before embarking on the Yukon River towards Dawson City. This route, with its steep Chilkoot Pass, was the true "gateway to the Klondike" for all gold seekers departing from Skagway. The climb up the snowy pass was a nightmare for the heavily equipped prospectors. The trail is now protected by the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in the United States and is a designated "National Historic Site" of Canada.

A permit is required in the summer to undertake the trip. The entire tour takes 3 to 5 days and is not something to be rushed. Ask at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park Visitor Center in downtown Skagway.

Tlingit Trade Route. The Chilkoot Trail was one of five trade routes used by the coastal Tlingit to travel to the interior. Each of these routes was owned by a clan, and the clan leader managed the trade along the route. Each year, Tlingit traders would travel inland with eulachon (a type of fish) fat, dried fish, and other sea products to trade for furs, skin clothing, and other products with the interior natives. When Russian, British, and American fur traders arrived in the ^mid-19th century, the Tlingit had trade goods from Europe at their disposal, giving them a new trading advantage over their interior partners and allowing them to establish themselves as middlemen in the lucrative fur trade with Europeans through the trails they controlled.

Prospectors' Gateway. In 1880, the U.S. Navy negotiated an agreement with the Tlingit under which prospectors and explorers were allowed limited use of the Chilkoot Trail. The trail soon became the main route for prospectors to the upper Yukon River basin. Through their control of the trail, the Tlingit were able to establish a lucrative monopoly in the transportation of goods. Not only were they able to profit from this new activity, but they were also able to control the flow of goods into the interior, thus maintaining their advantageous trading position. As traffic increased, the transport of goods became more important than the trade itself. The local porters soon began to struggle to keep up with demand, which challenged the traditional Tlingit land rights system.

The Poor Man's Road to the Klondike. In the summer of 1896, the discovery of gold in the Klondike turned the intermittent trickle of hardy prospectors who used the trail every spring into an uncontrollable tide of hapless gold seekers. There were several routes for prospectors to take to the gold fields, but the Chilkoot Trail was the shortest and cheapest. This was the route taken by most of the gold seekers. It was called the "poor man's road" because a man could carry his equipment on it without help. Weighing from 600 kg to 1 ton of supplies, equipment and other items, an unbroken line of prospectors moved slowly and carefully, cutting down the few trees that grew in the vicinity. They gradually turned the trail into a huge sinkhole. Several exhausting round trips on this 60° slope of snow and ice were necessary to transport all the material. And there was no question of traveling light because, as at every border pass between Alaska and Canada, the Canadian Mounted Police controlled the prospectors' equipment very strictly. A detailed list of items was necessary for survival in the Klondike. People left offices, stores and farms to search for gold in the Klondike sands and found themselves, lacking experience, organization and knowledge of the wilderness, in the midst of a vast northward migration. At first, the Tlingit and Tagish porters took advantage of this tide of people, but the sheer volume of traffic, competition from other porters and technical improvements to the trail soon ended their monopoly. From a simple horse-powered winch to pull sleds up the last steep section to the pass, the system gradually evolved into a complex network of cable cars capable of carrying nine tons of material per hour from Sheep Camp to the top of the pass.

Competition from the White Pass Railway. In the summer of 1899, the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway, following the White Pass Trail, arrived at Bennett Lake. The Chilkoot Trail was almost immediately abandoned in favour of this newer, faster and cheaper way of transporting goods and people into the interior. At first, the cable cars tried to compete, but they were soon bought out by the railroad company, which later dismantled the system. Dyea became a dead city.

To start the famous trail from Alaska, go to the ghost town of Dyea, 15 km west of Skagway. On the Canadian side, we will go to Bennett, also a ghost town. There are no phones or roads to get there. It can only be reached by float plane or by the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. The trail is protected and administered by the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park. In winter, it is open but difficult and dangerous due to avalanches. The first section, located in Alaska, goes through a humid and often soaked forest (passages on wooden bridges). The first night stop is at Finnegan's Point (km 8) or Canyon City (km 12.5) where you can see the remains of a huge camp that stood there in 1897. The second day of hiking leads to Sheep Camp (km 20.9), the base camp of Chilkoot Pass. Day 3, wake up around 6am for a long day to Happy Camp (km 33). The passage of the Golden Stairs is the steepest with an ascent on sometimes unstable rocks. The Canadian flag is waiting for you at the top! The rest of the hike is a pure marvel, with wild and northern landscapes through large plains worthy of Patagonia. The numerous river and stream crossings can get your hiking boots wet. A last night is spent in Linderman City (km 41.8) or Bare Loon Lake (km 46.7) before reaching Lake Bennett (km 53.1). Hot meal at the Bennett station restaurant (fee, set menu, must be reserved). Take the White Pass train back to Skagway (Alaska) or stop at the Fraser station to take a bus to Carcross or Whitehorse (Yukon).

Other address. The Chilkoot Trail is the subject of an international park shared by the United States and Canada: the Klondike Gold Rush National Park on the American side, whose main office is in Skagway, the Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site on the Canadian side, whose main office is in Whitehorse.