Skagway and Haines

Wednesday, July 10, Haines. After a long period of good weather, we are awakened today by raindrops on Verny's roof.

But let's start from the beginning.

2am in Skagway, we arrived after a fantastic and relaxing ferry crossing, and we parked at the long-term parking lot at the Ferry Terminal to take a break. If you think that cruise ships are just huge, you are mistaken, they also make a huge noise when they 'land' early in the morning. We were 'lucky', it was exactly the day when FOUR ships came into the harbor. So we rushed into the movie-like Skagway with thousands of passengers.

Coffee and bagel were delicious, everything was great again and we were delighted with the extremely beautiful village!

First, we gather information about the Chilkoot Trail. This is the shorter but steeper of the two land routes used by the gold miners in 1898 on their way to Dawson City and the Klondike River. We would love to take on this adventure.

After much back and forth, we decide against it. We both don't like carrying a lot of weight (> 20 kg even with a carrier) for 4/5 days in rain and snow in the higher passages. We think it would be more of a endurance exercise than fun. But it still intrigues us. We visit the museum, which impressively shows the hardships of the 'Stampeders', and we decide on a kayak excursion and a hike to Denver Valley.

We take the old White Pass train to Fraser, BC, right across the border in Canada. The train ride over all the ancient bridges was impressive. The 🛶 was a lot of fun, you just don't want to capsize in that cold water!

After delicious food at the Skagway Brewing Company (by the way, we always eat fantastic food, both away and in Verny :), we return to our campground, which looks more like a parking lot, but it has full hookup, which we appreciate like Verny from time to time. The next day, we go on the organized hike. Ok, we've seen that, it's not really our thing. 8 family members coming from a cruise ship and have never hiked before...

The Dyea Campground, without hookup, was fantastic. It's peaceful and cozy living there. The only thing we can't do is make a fire because it hasn't rained in a long time 🙃 that happens once in 100 years.

We are still looking for the best solution to visit Haines. The lady at the ferry terminal tells us that there is still space for us and Verny tomorrow, Sunday!

The journey to Haines takes 45 minutes. Haines is completely different again, the big cruise ships don't usually come to Haines, which gives the village a completely different character. Grocery stores, outdoor clothing stores, and fishing shops instead of tanzanite, watches, indigenous 'art', and souvenirs (does that ring a bell?).

The restaurant Fireweed recommended by the guide in Skagway was perfect. Cool place with very delicious halibut, sockeye salmon, curry couscous, and spinach with ricotta on top!

Marcel googles tirelessly until he finds a beautiful and challenging mountain hike for us. Mount Riley. Once again, we fight through the rainforest, with all its countless roots, to the summit and back. Here, it's the creaking trees that make us nervous (sounds like a horror movie). The 360-degree view from the top is a dream.

In the evening, we watch an eagle catching a salmon and carrying it from tree to tree to avoid sharing it...

Skagway, Dyea, and the Gold Rush 1898:

https://www.nps.gov/klgo/learn/goldrush.htm