By Scotty Martell
After our six weeks in Glacier Bay were up we were all ready to see some new scenery. Hopped on the ferry to Juneau for 2 days of relaxing and preparations for our month in Skagway(which is a Tlingit word for whitecaps). I spent my time in Juneau exploring the downtown area, enjoying the new scenery and indulging in good coffee and exploring the new place. After Juneau we ferried on down to Skagway.
We had one day before work started to explore the ever so touristy downtown of Skagway which is filled with diamond and gold shops and sheep like cruise ship goers. The first few days of work were spent brushing around the Dyea area. On Friday we saddled up to begin the 13 miles to sheep camp. Our larger camp gear like stoves, weather port and cooking utensils as well as tools were being flown up via helicopter to the sheep camp area.
We had one day before work started to explore the ever so touristy downtown of Skagway which is filled with diamond and gold shops and sheep like cruise ship goers. The first few days of work were spent brushing around the Dyea area. On Friday we saddled up to begin the 13 miles to sheep camp. Our larger camp gear like stoves, weather port and cooking utensils as well as tools were being flown up via helicopter to the sheep camp area.
Our first day of work on the trail we were divided up into two teams, one team (Sam&Nate) stayed around camp to finalize things and make it a little more homey feeling by setting up tarps over tents, digging tent pads. While the rest of us(Vinny, Sarah, Lesley and I) hiked on up to the talus field on the Long Hill section of the trail(named because it is a very long hill). This section is right before the "golden Staircase" which leads hikers up and over the pass into Canada. On this part of the trail it is one big scree field which makes it difficult to hike through. Our project was to construct staircases on the tales section and stepping stones over the first stream crossing.
Ascending the stair case
After our first week of work was over it was time for us to begin our adventure up and down the Chilkoot trail. Our humble Guide Nate Dogg had instructed us to pack enough gorp and oatmeal for 3 days. After a early rise we began our journey back into time. After the Long Hill section of the trail it turns to "the scales" named so because it was a stopping point for gold rushers who had to weigh their goods and have exactly 1 ton of goods for the Canadians to even let them into Canada. If "stampeeders" did not have enough goods they would abandon all of their goods at the scales. This is evident in all the random items scattered around this section of the trail. From the scales it was time to start our scramble up the "golden Staircase". I found this section to be rather aggressive as it was a very steep and rocky section with parts steep enough that you must use all four limbs to maneuver through. Upon making it into the Canadian side we were greeted by fog and mist.
Looking down the Golden Stair Case
Our next stop after the pass was at happy camp for the night which was a good eight miles from the pass. The next day we would hike on to Lindeman city, another campsite along the trail. From here we would spend a night and hike on to Bennett, our final destination on the trail. From here we would ride the White Pass Train back to Skagway(shouts to Aric Baldwin for hooking us up with the tickets).
After our time on the trail we headed back up to the Dyea area for one night to rest up after our excursion on the trail. The following Monday we would hike back into Sheep camp for our final hitch on the Chilkoot.
The first few days of work I spent working on the talus field stair cases with Lesley and Sarah while Vinny, Nate and Sam worked down below on the stream crossing. Around the fifth day of work I was recruited to join the stream team along with Ezra(NPS trails) and Cocoa the trail dog to dig a reroute from the new stream crossing to the trail.
Our time on the Chilkoot was relaxing although we were at work it was a nice change to be so far away from roads and cars and large numbers of people. During our time on the trail we encountered, one Mama Black Bear and Cubs in a tree as well as many Ptarmigan and Marmots. This past Monday(the 17th) we hiked back down from sheep camp to begin our preparation for our final endeavors in Sitka. We were treated to Pizza at the Red Onion by the NPS trail crew folks. Much thanks to these guys for all the things they did for us on the Chilkoot, from arranging our train tickets to delivering mail to us on the trail and flying our gear in/out, they made our time unforgettable without a doubt.
Talus Field
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