Hiking the Chilkoot Trail

The Chilkoot Trail has three levels of interest.

First of all, the geography is unique. There are few, if any, other places in the world where you can experience five distinct ecological zones over such a short distance.

Second, the trail is a living museum. It is littered from one end to the other with artifacts dating from the Gold Rush and World War II.

Finally, the Chilkoot Trail presents a tremendous physical challenge with unique obstacles.

Any hikers with an interest in history should add hiking the Chilkoot Trail to their bucket list.

For more information, check out my article Reasons to Hike the Chilkoot Trail.

While it is theoretically possible to show up in Skagway, Alaska, to hike the Chilkoot Trail without any advance preparation, this is not advised for a number of reasons.

Because the trail is located within both American and Canadian national parks, permits are needed to control the number of people on the trail at any given time. So if you only have a short window of time to hike the trail and you do not have advance reservations your departure can be delayed.

There is also the matter of being properly outfitted for the hike. Even in the peak hiking season, July and August, you must be ready for any weather conditions, including snow. You also need to provide enough food for the duration of the hike. Less experienced hikers therefore do well to hike the Chilkoot Trail with an established outfitter.

For more information, please read my article Preparing to Hike the Chilkoot Trail.

Hiking the Chilkoot Trail can take from four to eight days, requiring between 30lbs and 50lbs of gear, including clothing, food, and equipment. You will then be hiking anywhere from four to twelve (or more!) hours a day in diverse terrain, including snowfields, muddy tracts, and up a forty-five degree stable boulder field.

Needless to say, you need to be fit if you want to be able to enjoy hiking the Chilkoot Trail, much less hike it safely. Depending on your level of fitness, training should start at least six months before the hike and should include plenty of up and downhill hiking while wearing a full pack.

For more information, please read my article Packing and Training to Hike the Chilkoot Trail.

There are a number of ways to reach the Chilkoot trailhead at Dyea, Alaska. Some come off the cruiseships at the port of Skagway or fly in. I think the way I reached it is the best. My group drove from Whitehorse, Yukon, to Fraser, British Columbia. At Fraser, we hopped onto a train and rode the world-famous White Pass narrow gauge railroad into Skagway.

Riding this railroad should be considered another bucket list item because of the impressive scenery. I could not believe my good fortune at being able to combine two spectacular journeys into one!

My blog post Fraser to Skagway on the Whitepass and Yukon Railroad has lots more pictures of this scenic 40 mile train trip that will take you right into Skagway.

Your Chilkoot Trail adventure will start in Skagway, an odd narrow town sandwiched on three sides by tall mountains and penned in on the forth by the ocean. It is a port city where cruise ships arrive in the hundreds during the summer season. This town is very much a tourist trap with a lot of shops selling kitschy souvenirs. But I had a whole afternoon to explore the town and discover its hidden jewels. Be sure to take a guided tour with an interpreter from the National Parks Service!

Check out my blog post Skagway, Alaska (by clicking on the photo) for more information about this historic destination.

From Skagway, you will need to make your way to the ruins of Dyea, where the Chilkoot Trailhead is located. There is very little left to see in Dyea today, making it hard to believe that it was once a bustling metropolis that rivaled Skagway!

If you arrive early enough, there might be time to explore the area. Otherwise, get a good night's sleep!

Check out my blog post Dyea, Alaska (Chilkoot Trailhead) (by clicking on the photo) for a few more pictures of Dyea.

Our first morning on the Chilkoot Trail took us from the trailhead at Dyea to Finnigan's Point.

There are a number of different ways to hike the trail; some hikers prefer to arrive in Dyea at mid-day and hike straight to Finnigan's Point for the night. But my outfitters chose the longer way of doing the trail, which offered more time to enjoy the different campgrounds along the trail.

The Chilkoot Trail starts off a tad brutally with Saintly Hill, a slippery mass of mud and tree roots, but once that's past it's a fairly easy trek through marshland to reach the shelter at Finnegan's Point.

Check out my blog post Chilkoot Trailhead to Finnigan's Point for more about this section of the trail and the outfitters I chose.

It an easy hike from Finnigan's Point to Canyon City, which was our first overnight stop on the Chilkoot Trail. This campground is about 7.5 miles from the Dyea Trailhead. If you arrive early enough you can cross the suspension bridge and go explore some gold rush artifacts!

Canyon City is a lovely campground along the Taiya River and was my favourite of the whole trip.

Check out my blog post Finnigan's Point to Canyon City for more pictures.

My second morning on the Chilkoot Trail took us through the gold rushers' least favourite part of the hike. It goes up and down some gullies and was apparently quite muddy at the time. Like the previous day, we started with a brutal climb first thing and the work didn't let up until we reached Pleasant Camp, so named because it was the first nice stretch after Canyon City. The beach is lovely!

Check out my blog post Canyon City to Pleasant Camp (by clicking on the photo) for more pictures.

Sheep Camp is the Chilkoot Trail base camp. From here starts the most grueling section of the trail, a twelve-hour (average) hike to the summit and back down to the next camp!

This was one of my least favourite campgrounds because it is on a hill and the path to the outhouses is a bit treacherous.

You can expect a park ranger to come give a talk about about the summit climb sometime in the evening.

Check out my blog post Pleasant Camp to Sheep Camp for more about this recently relocated campground.

Because of the risk of avalanches later in the day as temperatures rise on the summit, we had to leave camp very early, no later than 6AM.

The first part of the hike to the summit is a section called the Long Hill. It's a very gentle climb, and not nearly as difficult as I would have expected it to be.

After the Long Hill comes the section that history buffs will love: the Scales. This is where the packers would drop the gold rushers' good to reweigh them before climbing the summit. Many goods were dropped here and it is possible to see the remains of everything from tools to footwear.

Next comes the fabled Golden Staircase, the stable forty-five degree boulder field. This part was scary, but thrilling! It requires a measure of agility, strength, and balance. There's no resting at the top, though, since you still have two more, smaller, boulder fields before you reach the actual summit!

Take a moment to photograph the cairn marking the Alaska/Canada border and then peer through the fog to find the Canadian flag blowing over the warm up shelter. Head there for a much needed lunch and rest because the day is only half done!

Check out my blog post Sheep Camp to the Summit for more about this incredible part of the trail.

I was surprised to discover that the second half of summit day is just as tough as the first!

We went down the snow pack around Crater Lake and crossed a few more boulder fields before reaching Happy Camp. I am thrilled to say that my hard training paid off and I literally bounced into Happy Camp with energy to spare!

The changing landscapes were amazing. We were not only in another country, but also another world. While still very much above the treeline, we began to descend back into greenery.

Happy Camp was one of the most beautiful camps, but it was also a lot of work since you had to cross a stream multiple times to go between the tent platforms and the outhouses and cooking shelter.

Check out my blog post The Summit to Happy Camp for pictures of this beautiful section of the Chilkoot Trail.

We had a late start from Happy Camp to Deep Lake. I enjoyed the morning there, sitting around in shorts and a tee-shirt while surrounded by snow!

This section of the trail wound up being one of the easiest. We enjoyed our lunch at Deep Lake, a picturesque campground by a busy stream.

Check out my blog post Happy Camp to Deep Lake (by clicking on the photo) for more pictures of the changing landscapes.

The section from Deep Lake to Lindeman City is the only part of the Chilkoot Trail that I would qualify as being easy.

Lindeman City is located on Lindeman Lake, a bright blue expanse set against glaciers. There is a Parks Canada interpretive centre here at the largest campground on the Chilkoot Trail. Make sure to visit the cemetery.

Check out my blog post Deep Lake to Lindeman City to learn more about this campground.

We climbed one ridge after another to reach Bareloon Lake from Lindeman City. This shallow, swimmable, lake is the setting for a campground perched on a granite cliff.

From Bareloon there's a shortcut off the trail, but hikers who take it miss the most spectacular campground of all. I'm happy that we took a long lunch at Bareloon and continued on to the final overnight stop.

Check my blog post Lindeman City to Bareloon Lake (by clicking on the photo) for more information on the shortcut.

The thirty meanest meanest miles in history didn't give up once; the final stretch of the Chilkoot trail is uphill through sand!

We made our last camp at Lake Bennett, a stunning turquoise lake rimmed by mountains. It was like Lindeman Lake, only amplified in its beauty. Hikers who take the short cut really miss out on something very special.

Lake Bennett used to be a bustling town, but only the church and train station remain. Artifacts like broken bottles litter the site, so footwear is not optional!

From Lake Bennett, my weary group of hikers took the train back to Fraser, a perfect bookend to one of the most amazing weeks of my life.

Check out my blog post Bareloon Lake to Bennett and Out for more pictures of the area. There's lots to see!

There was too much information from my week hiking the Chilkoot Trail to convey it all in blog posts!

If I whetted your appetite but didn't quite satisfy it, check out my ebook Echoes of '98: Hiking the Chilkoot Trail in the 21st Century for lots more information and pictures about this famous trail.

Echoes of '98: Hiking the Chilkoot Trail in the 21st century is my pictorial ode to the fabled route to the Klondike gold fields.

Featuring more than 100 rich colour photographs in 150 pages, the ebook is about the Chilkoot Trail today while establishing it in its historical context. Adventurers wishing to hike the trail will find information on how to do so, including a suggested packing list. All for only 5.95USD!