 Travelogue
Alaska
Skagway - June 11th
Content:
(Click on picture to enlarge, then use Browser's Back
Button to return to page)
Scenic Views of Skagway
 Arrival
to Skagway early June 11th. The ship to the left is the Kennicott one of the
Alaska Inner Passage Ferries.
 Some
of the mountains surrounding Skagway.
 More
of the mountain range surrounding Skagway which was the entrance to the Gold
Rush Klondike region in the 1890's.
 The
7 Seas Adventurer in port at Skagway.
 Skagway
today only has about 500 citizens. During the Gold Rush days it grew to over 10,000
due to its prominent position as the portal to the Klondike.
 With
this view, you can get a real sense of how strategically located Skagway was for
the gold rush pioneers. They needed to get to the entrance to the pass between
these mountains to get to the water ways beyond the mountains to reach the
Klondike region.
Scenes from the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad
 The
Skagway river basin at the foot of the canyon on which the train ride journeyed.
Skagway Valley scene from ground level.
 A
view of the valley from one third of the distance up the mountains.
 A
view of the Canadian Yukon Highway on the opposite canyon wall.
 The
river from midway up the canyon wall.
The river's rapids are swifter the higher the canyon we travel.
 The
international customs building on the opposite wall of the canyon.
The walls of the canyon were steep and the terrain was rough for the gold
rush settlers to climb as they pursued getting themselves to the Klondike. For
this reason the train was built to move the gold seekers closer to their
destination which was over the pass and at the foot of a water way on which they
would still have six hundred miles to travel to get to Prudhome Bay.
 Bridal
Falls on the West side of the Canyon .
 The
Skagway Valley from the top of the incline of the Canyon
 The
White Pass and Yukon Route Train climbs to close to 3,000 feet at its summit
giving its riders a magnificent panorama of the Skagway Valley.
 A
sister train climbing the to the top of the summit.
The train turns the bend going across the last gorge to get to White Pass.
As we climbed to the summit we got into the clouds.
 As
we got higher and higher one began to wonder how those gold rush pioneers did
this on foot and still survived while carrying their mandatory 2 tons of
supplies with which they needed to arrive in Alaska.
 This
view gives you idea of how high the fir trees were in these mountain ranges.
 The
river in the valley began to disappear as we began to reach the summit.
Those white specs down there is the Skagway River.
 We
were really climbing by now and where we had come from was looking real small!
A view down the cliff of the canyon for perspective. This train is a small
gauge rail train and perfectly suited for crawling along a mountain side.
 They
were not just talking about "sheer cliffs" they meant it!
 That's
our train going into that tunnel on the side of this mountain!
 A
mountain stream and sheer cliffs waited for us on the other side of this
tunnel.
At this height you can just make out where the river is by the tree line.
 Magnificent
panoramic view of the mountain pass.
 Looking
straight down the steep mountain cliff to the rapids in the river below.
 That
is snow down there near the river rapids. Again we were lucky to see the snow.
They said it would be gone by July.
There is a trestle coming up. Look at all the snow up here!
 Yep
it is a trestle, but I sure hope we aren't going on that! This height stuff is
making me woozy!
 There's
our train, it is going over a trestle but not that one we saw. At least this
trestle looks stronger.
 That's
the old trestle which they put out of commission for this new one we are on.
 Looks
like we are heading back down the trail for home.
 You
can see the port in the distance.
 We
made it back safely and this is the old steam engine with rotary snow blade for
the winter travels up the pass. No way would you get me to go with that during
the winter. In fact the train does not operate during the winter any more.
Click here to get to Lynn Canal
June 11th
| 
Coping.org:
Tools for Coping
with Life's
Stressors
Coping.org
is a Public Service of James J. Messina, Ph.D. & Constance M. Messina, Ph.D.,
Email: