Skagway AK

Departing Juneau we met the MV LeConte, another ferry in the AMHS, about half the length of the Matanuska.  Note that all the ferries are named after Alaska glaciers.

MV LeConte

They parked me very close to the wall on the passage to Juneau.  We'll get back to that.

Dorcas lounging on the solarium deck

On nice days some folks ride outdoors and watch the sights

View of Lynn Canal, our route to Skagway

Cruise ships stop at Haines

Our ferry made a stop in Haines as well

MV Matanuska docked at Haines

Drivers waiting to board at Haines

On our passage to Skagway there was a large youth group.  Their luggage consisted of backpacks, and I think they were going to hike the Chilkoot Trail.  They pretty much took over the solarium on this passage.  More about them later.

Hobo camp on the solarium deck

Passing a cruise ship.  Is it a race for the last parking spot?

Skagway is another popular destination for cruise ships on the inside passage.

Norwegian Cruise Line sends 2 shiploads at a time.

Driving the herd back aboard the ship.  Apparently this ship was assaulted by a graffiti artist.

We arrived in Skagway Wednesday June 28 and plan to stay about 2 nights.  Skagway is on the mainland, and is the northern terminus on the inside passage.  From here we will drive north into the Yukon Territory and on to Whitehorse.





Skagway is Alaska's oldest incorporated city.  The name Skagway is derived from shԍagéi, a Tlingit word which refers to rough seas in the Tayia Inlet, that are caused by strong north winds.  Skagway and Dyea are twin ports at the north end of the Lynn Canal and were the most important overland routes for stampeders headed to the Klondike gold fields in late 1890s.  Skagway led to the White Pass route, while Dyea was the gateway to the Chilkoot Trail.  Both routes were very strenuous and treacherous.  At the end of either route stampeders would build a boat and float down the Yukon River to Dawson City on the Klondike River.  A few struck it rich, but most either struck out or never made it at all.

We are camped at Dyea Campground on the Tayia River, a unit of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.  The campground is very primitive and remote.  Access is by a very narrow winding gravel road up the Tayia Inlet about 10 miles outside Skagway.

The road to Dyea.  Not for the faint of heart.

Dyea flats and town site.  Nothing left any more.

William Moore was a steamship captain, businessman, miner and explorer in British Columbia and Alaska. During most of British Columbia's gold rushes Moore could be found at the center of activity, either providing transportation to the miners, working claims or delivering mail and supplies.  Moore came to Skagway 1897 and established a homestead and built a wharf and supply depot, in anticipation of the subsequent gold rush.  When the stampeders arrived, they essentially overran his claim and he lost most of his homestead.

Historic Moore Homestead 

Mascot Saloon

We attended a number of ranger talks

We had lunch and a few brews at the Skagway Brewing Company 

The brews on draft

We enjoyed the Boom Town Brown and the Blue Top Porter

Today I introduce a new craft beer term:  The Adventure Growler is similar to a conventional growler, but is made of plastic, much like a Nalgene bottle, and is usually rectangular in shape.  The Adventure Growler can be taken places where glass containers are not allowed, such as on many rivers and all of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

I might have bought a growler, but I wasn't impressed with their logo

A house of "Negotiable Affection"

Older Alaska plate honoring the gold rush and the climb over the Chilkoot Trail

Old Dyea town site

The only remaining structure remnant in old Dyea

Mascot Saloon

I think Radio Shack now may qualify as an historic building

There has been a proposal to build a road from Juneau to Skagway along the eastern side of the Lynn Canal.  The road would be 47 miles long and cost over $600 million.  A ferry connection would still be required along the road.  The proposed project is currently on hold pending resolution of budgetary and environmental issues.

To build or not to build

Which way do we go?

This monster snow blower was used by the Yukon Route and White Pass RR to keep the tracks clear in the winter.  The engine was used exclusively to power the blower.  A separate locomotive was used to propel the blower.

This sculpture depicts the weariness and frustration of the Stampeder

The Slide Cemetery is located in Dyea.  On April 2, 1998, an avalanche on the Chilkoot Trail killed over 60 stampeders.  Many are buried here.

Tayia River

Rafting on the Tayia River

Remember earlier when I talked about the youth group with the backpacks and being parked close to the wall on the ferry from Juneau?  Well the coach was parked only about 18 inches from the center wall on the ferry and next to a stairway door.  This space is not wide enough for a teenager wearing a backpack to walk without rubbing (and scratching) both sides along the way.  I was already in the coach and heard at least one of the boys cursing that he was stuck between my coach and the ferry wall.  Why they couldn't carry their backpacks, I don't know.  The result was a series of deep sine-wave shaped scratches down the whole length of the coach.  I didn't see the damage until the next day.  I returned to the ferry terminal and talked to the terminal manager, who gave me instructions on filing a claim.  I am not hopeful the AMHS will pay for repairs.

CRAP!!!!

On the health front:  Taking the Cipro seemed to knock my infection out .... for a while.  On our second day in Skagway the symptoms returned and my blood glucose once again soared out of the range of my meter.  I called Juneau Urgent Care, and they said they could write me another prescription, this time for amoxicillin, a more powerful antibiotic.  The problem is there is no pharmacy in Skagway.  I had 2 options, neither one good:  1) medications are usually flown into Skagway from Juneau. That would delay us at least one day, maybe two, and would likely cost a premium.  2) have the prescription filled in Whitehorse.  The Canadian pharmacy could receive the prescription, but could not fill a prescription written by a non-Canadian licensed physician.  But apparently I could take the prescription to the urgent care facility in Whitehorse, and they could re-write the prescription, probably for a fee, but without paying for another physical exam, which would not be covered by my health insurance while in Canada.  Damned if you do damned if you don't.  I elected to keep rolling and hope for good luck in Whitehorse.  The saga continues .....

Upon leaving Skagway we will have ended our 4 week sojourn up the inside passage of Southeast Alaska and will enter the next chapter our our adventure.