We had an excursion planned - we were taking the White Pass & Yukon Railway journey to the White Pass Summit. The railway was built in 1898 to carry people and supplies to the Klondike gold rush. The summit is 2,865 ft high, and crosses into British Columbia. The train continues on to the Yukon Territory, but we chose the trip that turned around and went back to Skagway after reaching the summit. Skagway is also the northern terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway. We were able to see the highway between Skagway and the Yukon Territory from the train. At one time, Skagway had a population of over 20,000 residents - today the year-round population is just 862, and apparently all of them are involved in tourism in the summer!
The train trip was amazing - incredibly beautiful scenery, as we climbed towards the summit. There were trestles and tunnels, as the train climbed. The narrator on board talked about the miners and how they made the journey on foot, with whatever pack animals they had available. Seeing the terrain made me realize that gold does strange things to some people! It looked like sure suicide to undertake that trip, even in the summer, much less in winter time. Apparently so many horses died along the way that the trail was referred to as "dead horse trail". Yuck!
We traveled on a refurbished parlor car, the same cars that had hauled people since the beginning of the railroad. At one point, we could look back toward the sea, and see four of the five cruise ships docked in town - amazing!
When we returned to Skagway, we had time for lunch and a tour of town. The weather had become beautiful and sunny, and it was great to have a nice walk. As you'll see in the pictures, it wasn't far into town!
We totally enjoyed our time in Skagway! Then it was time to sail, and we headed back out the Lynn Canal to the inside passage. Incredibly beautiful scenery along the way! Tomorrow we visit the Hubbard Glacier! Praying for blue skies and sunshine!!
Our ship and sister ship "Infinity" docked in Skagway
Well, it doesn't get much more convenient than this - the White Pass & Yukon train comes right onto the dock!
Boarding the train!
Our conductor.
Old Engine #52
Another old engine along the tracks
This is an old caboose, that has been turned into a vacation rental!
The journey begins - off into the mountains!
Hugging the mountainside
And over a trestle
If you expand this picture, you will see all of the people on the platforms between the cars, cameras in hand!
Continuing the climb
Looking back into town and the dock. If you expand the picture, you'll see the cruise ships moored there.
Beautiful scene - mountains and the sea
This was taken along the Alaska Highway, which came close to the train tracks in places
The train, chugging up the mountain
More beautiful scenery
The original trestle - it's not used anymore
Another view of the old trestle over the gorge
Glacial river running alongside the tracks
The summit! The flags represent all of the countries and territories that the railway crosses
Beautiful, beautiful mountains!
The railway and the Alaska Marine Highway in the distance - now that would be a road trip!
The clouds are lifting!
Coming back down the mountains and getting into the meadows - lots of fireweed in bloom!
A rushing river
Ok, we may have gotten a bit carried away with the scenery shots, but you can see the train track in this one! This was also called "slippery slope" where the workers actually hung from ropes to set the dynamite to blast out the bed for the railroad tracks.
Last scenery shot of the train trip - promise!
Very interesting building in Skagway - it was covered in driftwood!
As you can see, it wasn't a long walk into town! There were 5 cruise ships docked that day, so downtown was pretty busy!
Downtown Skagway, with the mountains behind
More of downtown. Note the boardwalk sidewalks!
Sorry Dave! We saw quite a bit of this in Alaska, including signs that said "Alaska - pissing Texas off since 1959"!
This "extreme machine" keeps the train track cleared of snow in the winter time
Two Norwegian cruise ships docked at the end of main street. Our ship was docked off to the left, along the harbor and train tracks, still a short walk to town!
Sailing back out the Lynn Canal! How beautiful is this??
More of the Lynn Canal, mountains on both sides.
What a view! I'd have to say that LIFE IS GOOD!!
A great lighthouse, in the middle of the canal. We also saw whales as we sailed out to the inside passage.
Tonight is our second formal night for dinner! We've got some relaxing time, and then we'll go get beautiful!Tomorrow is Hubbard Glacier - can't wait!!
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