We docked into Skagway overnight and left the ship early for our trip on the White Pass - Yukon Railroad. The day is not the best day for this trip, raining and very foggy; low clouds really! We board coaches for the trip along the Klondike Highway to Fraser, BC where we catch the train for a return trip to Skagway. The road follows the Skagway River, which is only 23 miles long, but has never been successfully rafted; it has class 6 rapids; it looked pretty wild to these untrained eyes. We traversed the Deadhorse Pass where over 3000 pack horses died during the Klondike gold rush. The trail that the miners used was visible at times, just about wide enough for one horse. It is said that if you stepped out of line for any reason it could take you hours to get back on the trail as it was so busy.
The road also crosses the William Moore bridge, an unusual single span bridge, one vehicle at a time! (William Moore was the founder of Skagway). The bridge is built right over a fault line and is only anchored on one side so that it won’t fail in the event of an earthquake; I wish they would tell us these nuggets of info after we were on the other side!
The top of the White Pass is 3292’ and then we are in Canada! When we arrive at Fraser Canadian immigration come on board to check our passports. Then we board the train for the 27 mile return trip to Skagway.
By now it is really raining, very cold and very cloudy so we did not get to see all of the scenery, but what we did see is amazing as the railway winds back down into Skagway, often perched on the side of a mountain high above the Skagway River, or going through long tunnels, or over high bridges.
Bob you would love to see this!
Back to the EON and lunch!
In the afternoon we had a nice walk around Skagway all 5 by 26 blocks! There are many authentic Victorian buildings along the main drag, Broadway.
Had excellent entertainment tonight, Steve Hines a local Skagwigian, did a history of Alaska in song, he uses a very unusual guitar made of carbon fiber! (Composite Acoustic, Louisiana).
We left Skagway at 9pm an our way to Glacier Bay National Park where the EON has a permit to enter tomorrow. This is unusual as the cruise ships aren’t normally allowed into the park; guess it’s because it’s the end of the season.
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