I’m not an Alaska expert, but I played one in a movie once. Not really, but I did spend two weeks there, one in a small boat in Prince William Sound, and it never rained once. This was late June, early July. We breathed mosquitoes in Denali National Park, though.
I’ve been on that train. It leaves from Skagway and goes just past the Canadian border, where you get off the train and take a bus back down to Skagway (by way of Liarsville, but that’s another story). Absolutely gorgeous scenery and some very interesting tales of the Alaskan gold rush. You can make the trip in an hour that took the prospectors as much as 2 or 3 months. And they had to go back multiple times because the Canadians wouldn’t let them into the Yukon without 6 months supplies.
I’ve been on that train, too. I believe it’s a narrow gauge track. They lost many horses and mules carrying that 6-months of supply, some carcasses are still there. I’m not sure what month we were there but it was still light at 10 p.m. A highlight the inside passage cruise – watching glaciers calve. Will there be any left for future generations?
Nice to see a railroad featured in a cartoon once again. I remember when Scancarelli did a tribute to O. Winston Link’s railroad photography in Gasoline Alley many years ago. WP&Y is a three foot narrow gage railroad that still operates in Alaska.
The White Pass was the “easy” route because you could manage it with horses. The trouble is that most of the men who made the trek up the White Pass knew less than nothing about packing horses or about handling horses and didn’t give a dam either. There are stories to chill your soul about the animals on the White Pass. Some descriptions make it sound like some of the animals literally committed suicide.
The Chilkoot Pass was the “harder” route. The men had to carry their goods up the “golden stairs” cut into the snow of the mountain. There are a number of photos of the Chilkoot showing a black line running up the side of the mountain – the line was made up entirely of people climbing the pass. They’d drop their loads and head back to the bottom secure in the knowledge that the Northwest Mounted Police would make sure that nothing was stolen.
davidf42 over 12 years ago
Morning, Anniephans! And people haven’t changed much, either.
Here’s the link to Annie 2003 .
Ray_C over 12 years ago
I’m not an Alaska expert, but I played one in a movie once. Not really, but I did spend two weeks there, one in a small boat in Prince William Sound, and it never rained once. This was late June, early July. We breathed mosquitoes in Denali National Park, though.
APersonOfInterest over 12 years ago
I spent a week in Alaska one day.
JanLC over 12 years ago
I’ve been on that train. It leaves from Skagway and goes just past the Canadian border, where you get off the train and take a bus back down to Skagway (by way of Liarsville, but that’s another story). Absolutely gorgeous scenery and some very interesting tales of the Alaskan gold rush. You can make the trip in an hour that took the prospectors as much as 2 or 3 months. And they had to go back multiple times because the Canadians wouldn’t let them into the Yukon without 6 months supplies.
marvee over 12 years ago
I’ve been on that train, too. I believe it’s a narrow gauge track. They lost many horses and mules carrying that 6-months of supply, some carcasses are still there. I’m not sure what month we were there but it was still light at 10 p.m. A highlight the inside passage cruise – watching glaciers calve. Will there be any left for future generations?
ronpolimeni over 12 years ago
Nice to see a railroad featured in a cartoon once again. I remember when Scancarelli did a tribute to O. Winston Link’s railroad photography in Gasoline Alley many years ago. WP&Y is a three foot narrow gage railroad that still operates in Alaska.
TruckerRon over 12 years ago
Marvee, your final question is hard to answer, but I suspect those remaining carcasses will vanish eventually.
bmckee over 12 years ago
The White Pass was the “easy” route because you could manage it with horses. The trouble is that most of the men who made the trek up the White Pass knew less than nothing about packing horses or about handling horses and didn’t give a dam either. There are stories to chill your soul about the animals on the White Pass. Some descriptions make it sound like some of the animals literally committed suicide.
The Chilkoot Pass was the “harder” route. The men had to carry their goods up the “golden stairs” cut into the snow of the mountain. There are a number of photos of the Chilkoot showing a black line running up the side of the mountain – the line was made up entirely of people climbing the pass. They’d drop their loads and head back to the bottom secure in the knowledge that the Northwest Mounted Police would make sure that nothing was stolen.