From Buffalo to Alaska. Day 11 - 8/27/96

We decide the Whitehorse tour can wait -- we still want to get to Alaska. So we rent a car and head off down the Klondike Highway, from Whitehorse to Skagway, along the Yukon River.

The Klondike Highway follows the trail of the gold miners of 1898, who raced up the coast from San Francisco and Seattle after gold was discovered at Dawson, in the middle of the Yukon. They landed by boat at Skagway, Alaska, and then had to struggle up the 3500 foot mountain pass outside of Skagway, before before beginning their march to Dawson.

It takes us about 2 hours to travel the route from Whitehorse south to Skagway.

Along the way we pass through Tormented Valley, a desolate stretch of countryside featuring nothing but beautiful lakes and stunted spruce trees.

About 20 miles north of Skagway, we finally reach Alaska, although the clouds at the top of this mountain pass are so thick we can see nothing around us except this sign. As some wise person once said "It is better to be on the ground wishing you were flying, than flying and wishing you were on the ground." We're both glad we weren't trying to fly over this pass today.

In Skagway, we confront the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Skagway, like Juneau to its south, cling to the few flat areas below the base of the mountains. The climate in both places is that of a temperate rain forest, with great quantities of warm, moist air moving in every day. A fine place for trees, but a lousy place for airplanes.

This is the view from the center of Skagway, looking back up the valley from which we just descended.

Skagway is a popular stop along the cruiseship waterway from Vancouver to Anchorage. The town of 700 has almost none of its original businesses remaining (outfitting gold miners is in low demand), but has transformed itself to serve the 300,000 tourists who descend on Alaska each year by cruise ship.

Always on the lookout for new fashions and good values, Chief Pilot and Co-pilot visit the local souvenir shop to see what the German tourists are offered in Alaska.

After two hours, we've seen all of Skagway. Can't drive to Juneau, because no road connects Juneau with the rest of the world. Can't fly because the weather has grounded all the planes in Skagway. Instead, we book a ferry for 5 am the next morning, bound for Juneau.

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