Chilkoot Hike

We woke up fairly early, to shower one last time and eat one last meal that didn't start out dehydrated. Yvette and I braided our hair, in the hopes of keeping somewhat clean. The day was hot, so we were immediately thankful for our convertible pants and tanktops. Good thing we'd compared packing lists and made multiple trips to outfitters, or Yvette would have spent the week soaked in sweat. Or more than she needed to be anyway... there was really no escaping the sweat.

We breakfasted at a greasy spoon diner, so I requested a stop at the health food store, You Say Tomato. I marveled that Skagway has a health food store, when their winter population is approximately 800 and the summer seasonal population is less than three thousand; but we don't have one in Fairbanks. I bought liquid ginger, for when I fly in little bitty planes that like to spin upside down, and Knudsen's vegetable juice. I knew it would be a few days before I had anything nearly so fresh. Other than the one orange I would carry in my pack (much to Ken's ultra-light dismay) and eat for lunch because it weighed too much (which shows that there is an ultra-lighter in me, trying to get out).

Rocky drove us to the trailhead in Dyea, where we took the requisite pre-hike pictures with the National Park sign. While we waited for Rocky to park the truck a half mile down the road and walk back, we eavesdropped on the two tour groups that had just hobbled off of buses. They would be walking in with us for almost two miles. We felt like we were on exhibit; and Yvette thought that the tour groups would do well to pay people to hike those first few miles with backpacks each day, pretending to be thru-hikers. People who are paid have time to stop and chat and answer silly questions, which we knew were bound to come.

Examples of silly tourist questions, from our own experience:

1. Why don't they clean the glaciers?
2. How often do you visit the United States? (A: Almost every day.)
3. What kind of currency do you take? (A: Alaskan. The bank is just down the street.)
4. When do they turn the Northern Lights on?

You could have a contest around here in the summer, to see who gets asked the stupidest question. The problem is, we always hear the same questions time and again. (Yes, more than one person has thought that Alaska was its own country; and more often than not, the people who make this mistake are our fellow Americans.)

Upon Rocky's arrival, we started out on the trail and immediately encountered a very steep incline. Approximately a half mile up the trail, we signed the hiker registry (Token, Weggers, Skookum, and Rocky); and I was asked my stupid tourist question for the trip:

Are you guys going to spend the night out there?

There are two possible fun answers:
A1: Nope, I just think it's great fun to haul a thirty-five pound+ pack around on steep slopes.
A2: Yep, but hauling this backpack will all be worth it when we get to the luxury lodge at the top. Didn't they tell you about that? It's five star. You should really complain to your tour company.

Despite being hot, thirsty, and stopped by this group of gawking tourists (some of whom were quite young, so age is not an excuse), I was nice. And I hiked as fast as I could to get past them and the next group. They were moving slow, and the slope was very steep; so I was soon on the quiet trail, listening to the sound of only our foot steps and the Taiya River running nearby. The trail quickly flattened and widened out, and we began to catch our first glimpses of the snowy mountains ahead. I crossed my fingers that the heat would subside as we hiked toward the mountains. This was, after all, the coastal rainforest part of the trail... Skagway and vicinity aren't supposed to be nearly eighty degrees at any time of year! I was happy to know that there would be plenty of fresh water running near the trail on the United States side, and I was even happier to see that we would have sources outside of the silty, glacially fed Taiya. The trail, at least thus far, was surprisingly wet. It was great to have various crossings pre-constructed for us. Our boots would have quickly been soggy without them.

First ZigZag Bridge	What Is It
Beds in Cabin	Angry Ptarmigan

Highlights of the morning included an old, privately-owned cabin; our first artifacts strewn alongside the trail; one very angry ptarmigan hen (I think she had a nest nearby, and she chased us for a good ways along the trail); giant trees (a nice change of pace from the pencil thin spruce and deciduous trees in the Interior); and beautiful wildflowers.



Stay tuned...

So I didn't really have an adventure in Brazil. Despite how things look, I didn't spend a lazy week sunning myself on white sands, next to sparkling blue waters... The nice golden glow and streaks of blonde in my hair are snow glare induced. Ken and I and two neighbors (i.e. Token, Weggers, Skookum, and Rocky) just returned from our Chilkoot Adventure...

We left last Saturday for the drive to Whitehorse, attempting to sleep despite the frost heaves (silly us! how can you sleep when one leg and both arms must be used to brace yourself in your seat, lest you slump to the floor despite wearing your seat belt or bash your head against the window...), and were just in time to find hardly any restaurants open. Not that it was late... I think it was just after 7 pm on a Saturday night. While I longed to dine in the sushi restaurant downtown, or the little Indian restaurant tucked out of the way and on the periphery, Boston Pizza was one of the few places open. So Saturday night at Boston Pizza it was. It's a bitter pill to swallow when you leave Fairbanks only to eat at one of the few restaurants we have in Fairbanks!

Sunday morning somewhat made up for Saturday. We dashed around town to find a good cup of coffee, Tim Horton's donuts to satisfy Rocky's craving, 222s for Ken (who is notorious for breaking bones and not going to the doctor for a variety of reasons, so Canada's OTC policy- and health care system in general- works out well), and the sale at Coast Mountain Sports for those last minute must-haves and really good deals. (Unfortunately, with the exchange rate at nearly 1:1, those really good deals that I remember from a few years ago were a lot harder to find!) And of course, we couldn't leave town without stopping at the Yukon Brewing Company. It's Rocky's favorite, and Yvette and I were curious about a couple of the specialty beers. A taste test was in order, even if it was only 10:30 am, and I had walked in with my morning coffee still in hand! I figured it was ok, since the last beer in the line up was the Midnight Sun Espresso Stout. Just like coffee, no? I like Whitehorse a lot. It's much more cosmopolitain than Fairbanks, despite being less than half the size.

Emerald Lake, on the road to Skagway, was the highlight of our drive!

We had a two and a half hour drive to Skagway and permits yet to buy, so we headed down the road before the morning slipped away. We obtained our permits and listened to warnings about avalanche danger and the necessity of snowshoes, discovered there would only be one other group on the trail at our chosen camp spots, and wandered off to find lunch and drinks. It was a hot day in Skagway, but you wouldn't have known it: a "boat" was in, and the thousands of tourists wandering around town were all wearing jackets and long pants. By "boat" I mean cruise ship, and by cruise ship I mean vessel larger than any building in Skagway. This isn't actually a photo that I took, but it looks right (except it's missing the glaring sun, and the four of us sweating to death with as few clothes on as we could manage). I guess we must have really stuck out from the crowd in our shorts... that and the fact that we were walking in the middle of the road like Ester yokels, as much because that's what we do at home as it was to avoid the crowds... because I was asked for directions more than once.

After lunching, visiting the local outdoor store (the Mountain Shop) to see what was on sale and grab last minute things (notice a theme?), we headed to the hotel lawn to unpack our backpacks and repack our backpacks. As if we wouldn't do enough of that over the next few days... but that's how it is before a trip into the backcountry, long or short. Gear in order, we headed into our sweltering hotel for a fitful but early night of sleep. We knew falling and remaining asleep would be difficult given our state of excitement, but this is what we faced after breakfast the next morning:



Stay tuned for Day 1 on the trail...