Chilkoot Trail Backpacking Trip > Wilderness Area
Chilkoot Trail
The Chilkoot Trail is part of the Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site of Canada and the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
in the United States. These parks commemorate the stampeders of 1898 in
their struggles and journey to Dawson's gold fields. The world was
captured by gold fever as the first ships returned to Seattle filled
with gold from the Klondike. Stampeders from all over the world and all
walks-of-life rushed to get “grub staked” and begin their travels on
one of the many routes to Dawson City, Yukon.
The Chilkoot was the shortest and most popular route to the Klondike. It was one of only three glacier-free corridors through the Costal Mountains between Juneau and Yakutat. It consisted of a ship passage to the port of Dyea. From Dyea, stampeders had to carry, push, pull, drag or pay for their grub stake of one tone of provisions to be taken up and over the Chilkoot Pass and into Canada, either to Lindeman or Bennett Lake. From there they cut trees, built boats, and then traveled by the Yukon River into Dawson.
By far the Chilkoot Trail was the most physically demanding part of the journey and was as far as many stampeders made it. During winter, when many of the stampeders crossed the trail, it held many dangers and hardships including starvation, sickness, hypothermia, frostbite, avalanches, and even death. Today during summer, the trail is a pleasant backpacking route, when only burdened by a single load of 60lbs.
The Chilkoot Trail takes you through diverse environments. The trail goes from the tidal waters of Dyea, located on the famous Inside Passage of Alaska, through the Alaskan coastal rain forests, up and over the alpine tundra of the summit and down again into the boreal sub-alpine forest of interior Yukon.
