White Pass & Yukon Route

Our next port of call is the Skagway, population of 862 in the 2000 census. Of course, on our day of arrival, this ballooned almost over 500%!!! We were scheduled for a full day here, also our longest stay at a port during the entire cruise. This at least gave us sufficient time to sightsee a bit outside of the immediate port/town.

Tom and I signed up for an excursion that includes part of the White Pass & Yukon Route and kayak at Lake Bernard at the end of the train ride.

White Pass is a mountain pass through the Coast Mountains on the border of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. It leads from Skagway to the chain of lakes that are the headwaters of the Yukon River, Crater Lake, Lake Lindeman and Bennett Lake. The White Pass and Yukon Route is a narrow gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway with Whitehorse, the capital of Canada's Yukon Territory (think of it as another Canadian state, but only being governed by the Canadian federal government). The White Pass Trail was one of the two main passes used by prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush. The other one is the Chilkoot Trail, more difficult and dangerous than the White Pass Trail.

This railway was built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush; this railroad is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, a designation shared with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower, and the Statue of Liberty. Surprise, me too! It was considered an impossible task as it was literally blasted through coastal mountains in only 26 months, give and take $10M at the time, that is about $255M in 2008’s dollars according to the inflation calculator.

The ride was well worth the money, as the train snaked through the mountains. There is no way we would be fit enough to get on the trails here. The scenery is majestic. I was in awe of nature’s powerful setting and mankind’s endurance of challenges and difficulties to conquer. The train interior is pretty primitive. Since there are many spots for cliff hanging experiences, passengers are not allowed to go from one cart to another. Stories were narrated inside the carts but I was mostly captured by the passing landscape, figured I can read about the stories afterward.



After a while (can’t recall how long was the train ride, maybe an hour?), we arrived at Fraser, B.C. This was where we got off the train, we were already in Canada. The border patrol came onboard to check our passports. The vegetation is different here, mostly barren with low growing shrubs, probably weighed down by the snow and ice. I never truly saw the sun, so the overall feel is quite desolated. I know I shouldn’t but I was still amazed with how clear and icy the water is. As the train passed by, you can see the turquoise blue green water, beginning of the lake we were to kayak in.

To prepare for the outing, we grabbed our gear and learned the use of two-person kayak. We needed to put on our “skirts” to prevent the water from coming into the kayak. Plus, I was thankful for the gloves installed on the paddle, as I started to feel the cold wind now that we are not enclosed inside the train. I didn’t think my hubby truly understand what he signed up for when we “agreed” on a more sporty activity. We were among the first to get in the water and pretty much the last one to get back. Not because we enjoyed the water so much we took extra time….are you getting where the story is going yet….about more than half way through our round around the lake, my dear hubby decided that my “helping” in the paddling is counter productive to his paddling. He thinks that we can go faster if I were not “helping”!!! Well you get the drift…I am not sure if he would “volunteer” for another kayaking trip anytime soon….

We were supposed to watch for bears, mountain goats, caribous, and eagles amid the alpine terrain of the Tormented Valley, but we saw NADA. After paddling, we had a light snack and some hot tea/coffee, before boarding a motorcoach for our return to Skagway.