Alaska or Bust: Chilkoot Trail Days 2-5

Day 2 Chilkoot Trail Canyon City Campground – Sheep Camp (5.2 miles)

I was expecting day 2 to be easier than day 1 since we had to cover less mileage but it was a really hard hike. Although we only had a net 500 ft elevation gain, the actual change in elevation was much greater since we were going up and down so much. The trail was mostly up hill; some very steep and almost all was either on wet rocks or wet tree roots or mud; really squishy mud. Just putting my backpack on 1^st thing in the morning was a bit of agony, but I did limber up after hiking for a bit. The downhill portions really scared me, I kept imagining myself doing a face plant and either knocking out all of my front teeth or breaking my nose or jaw… Especially with my re-constructed right ACL, I was terrified of some of the down hills on the steeper sections of the trail. I did concentrate very hard and spent a lot of time watching where my feet were heading. My boots got to be a little boring to look at after awhile.

We stopped at what one of the hikers said was Pleasant Camp for lunch, it wasn’t actually the camp but hot Ramen Noodles with some dehydrated veggies and a packet of chicken added tasted like a gourmet meal J Our destination of the day was Sheep Camp; originally a base camp for sheep hunters, then during the gold rush it peaked with 16 hotels, 14 restaurants, 13 supply houses, 3 saloons, 2 dance halls and several other businesses. The population of Sheep grew during the winter month when winter storms slowed or halted the stampeders from going over the Chilkoot pass. All of the forest was destroyed at the time and has since grown back; there are few signs of the original camp.

My spirits were really low when we arrived in Sheep Camp but the whole group mentality and the excitement of climbing the Golden Staircase the next morning and going over the summit into Canada on day 3 was quite the rush. We had a meeting with one of the park rangers that evening to prep us for the climb over the pass and the trip to Lindeman Lake Camp. I had a Mountain House dehydrated dinner that was actually pretty good and went to bed really early. We were up at 4:30 breaking camp for the long day ahead.

I did find out later that the hike from the Canyon City to Pleasant Camp was considered by the prospectors to be the toughest on the trail and I definitely agree.

Day 3 Sheep Camp to Happy Camp (7.8 miles) elevation gain 2700 ft

I woke up at 4:30 and started tearing down camp. Oatmeal was my breakfast but I found that I just couldn’t eat much of it. I thought that maybe I was a little anxious about climbing the Golden Staircase and the long day ahead. Today’s hike takes very experienced hikers about 8 hours, and the rest of us about 12.

I was feeling pretty good, I kind of felt “one with my pack”, it just felt good and I felt very energetic for the day. The entire hike before we got to the Golden Staircase was uphill with numerous stream crossings and lots of mud and climbing over lots of rocks. At the top right before the Golden Staircase was the Scales. The Scales was known among the prospectors as “one of the most wretched spots on the trail”.

A tramway was built to carry the stampeders supplies over the pass, the prospectors were charged one rate, then when the load was reweighed at the scales, the rate was often tripled. The prospectors were required to carry a “ton of goods” into Canada, enough to last a year in the Yukon. Many stampeders became discouraged and discarded their equipment and turned back at the Scales. During the gold rush, the Scales supported at least 6 restaurants, 2 hotels, a saloon and various other businesses. Nearly all of them would end up buried in the snow.

After the Scales comes the Golden Staircase. The 45-degree climb from The Scales to the summit of the pass became known as the “Golden Stairs.” Two entrepreneurs carved steps into the snow and charged a toll for their use. It took the stampeders from 1 to 6 hours to make the trip. Many could only manage one trip per day and some needed 30 trips to get their outfits across the pass. His sight remains one of the icons of the Klondike gold rush. The Golden Stairs is a massive boulder field, with many of the granite boulders the size of cars. The kicker is that it is at a 45-degree angle and one must scramble up and over and between the boulders carrying a backpack. The total elevation from Sheep Camp to the summit is 2700 feet; the elevation change from The Scales to the summit is 1200 in ½ mile. Believe me, it was really steep, but I LOVED it!! I think it brought out my “inner mountain goat”, lol. But seriously, the steeper sections were actually easier because I was more upright rather that leaning over trying to scramble over the boulders. The depressing part is that everyone knows that there are 2 false summits, I could see what appeared to be the summit, but once I got there, there was another summit, then I had to go down hill and cross an ice field. This was really tough since it was downhill, then finally I crossed the summit. I’ve got to say that I have never been so happy to see the Canadian flag in my life. There was a nice warming hut at the summit where everyone hung out and had a late lunch and whooped it up a bit as each person crossed over the summit.

At this point I was feeling rather nauseous and couldn’t eat any food. Tom was starving and also very cold as I hung out with him for a while. Once at the summit, the hike for the day is only half over but most of the hikers are really mentally spent since the hype is all about the Golden Stairs! There was still another 4 miles to go almost all above the tree line with lots of tough stream crossings. I was getting more and more nauseous and couldn’t even eat a snack. I really struggled with the last couple of miles of the hike; it was an extremely long day, 12 hours total. Once we got into Happy Camp, everyone was helping everyone else get their camps set up and some great folks helped us get our tent set up. Tom climbed and was out like a light. I hung out in the warming hut with some newfound friends and drank tea trying to get my stomach to settle down. I finally slept well and was able to sleep in a bit in the morning even though we woke up to a rainy, misty fog. But our summit day had absolutely perfect weather with great visibility J

Day 4 Happy Camp to Lindeman City (5.5 miles) net decrease in altitude 1000 ft

I woke up feeling really miserable, I went to the warming hut just to get out of the rain and mist and fog. I pretty much sat there with my eyes closed and was crying. I felt really sick an knew that I really needed to eat but I felt so sick that I couldn’t even brush my teeth (eeewww!!) The Juneau ladies (bless them) started pushing electrolyte replacement stuff at me. I had two packs of it, plus a pocket full for later since we were going to be at different campground the next night. I still couldn’t eat but I did feel a little better. We hit the trail which immediately went uphill for what seems to be a long time, again lots of rocks and tree roots, followed by lots of downhill. About mid morning I started to get hungry and by the time we got to Deep Lake Campground I was starving and ate plain Ramen Noodles in the rain. They didn’t have a warming hut there, just a cooking platform. But in any case I was mostly cured of whatever was bothering my stomach. I do think it my electrolytes were out of whack.

We continued on to Lindeman City Campground. During the gold rush, Lindeman was a bustling town; they cleared the land of just about every tree within hauling distance to build boats to haul gear up to Bennett Lake and onto the Yukon River. There were about 4000 residents but there were essentially no permanent buildings unlike some of the other campgrounds.

I felt much better in the afternoon. Just as we got to Lindeman there was a torrential downpour. We weren’t sure if it was going to get better or worse so we went ahead and set up the tent in the rain. Sure enough, as soon as we were finished it stopped. We got our rain gear all dried out and had an enjoyable evening with the hikers. Lindeman is a pretty camp, right on a pretty lake with a nice stream for getting water.

We went to bed early at 8:00 since we were planning to get up really early for our final hike since we had to hike out to Bennett Lake, the end of the trail and catch the train back to Skagway at 2:00.

Day 5 Lindeman to Bennett (7 miles) slight elevation gain

We were up at 4:45 AM and on the trail at 5:40. I felt great!! Another one of those “one with my pack” days. The weather was overcast and cool but dry J. Shortly out of Lindeman was a lot of climbing for the 1^st 2 hours, then a lot of downhill. Some nice trail through pine forests without rocks and tree roots. We arrive at Bare Loon Lake Campground at 7:30. I had jokingly told the Juneau gals that I would see them for breakfast the next morning, and we arrived just as they were eating. They couldn’t believe the change in 24 hours. They truly did save my Chilkoot experience! We took a short break there then continued on to Bennett. It was a great hike, both Tom and I felt great and we made it in record time. We arrived at 10:15, even before the train station opened for the backpacker lunch. Just after we got there the fog rolled in and the rain started once again! Perfect timing. The dining room opened at 10:30 for lunch and it was the best lunch I have ever had in my life. Beef Stew, whole grain bread, hot tea and apple pie. The pie wasn’t all that great, but wow the hot stew and bread just hit the spot!!

At 2:00 the train left the station bound for the 2 ½ hour trip back to Skagway. We really couldn’t see much from the train because of the fog but I was warm, dry and happy J And what an experience!!!!

The campground where we were staying had pay showers. I think I used $5 worth of quarters until I finally felt human again. Chilkoot was definitely a major highlight of my trip to Alaska; it was such an amazing trail with such history…