When did California turn into Arizona?! It’s HOT here!! Well, anyhow….I’m happy to be here again, sunburn and all. :)
We are still getting settled and dealing with the things we’ve moved, which, in hindsight we should have just left….people have too much STUFF…not really necessary to live a good life. I will continue to try to downsize and live with less…that’s been a good lesson from this journey.
Alas, we’re off to reconnect with some friends and enjoy the people that make home home. :)
Yup, we’re on the move south…in Oregon for another few hours. We’ve seen so much good stuff, so much beauty. :) It’s been great! (Though, we realized yesterday we’ve been “homeless” for three weeks…we’re ready to stop unpacking, packing, and being on the move.)
We’re looking forward to going through photos and trying to document our trip a bit more archival manner than just this blog. Stay tuned for more information on how you, too, can purchase our new book! (Just kidding!!)
We did it…and here, hopefully in some logical order (but with my fatigue, I think most of these are out of order for you on the blog).
We hiked the Chilkoot Trail near Skagway, leaving from Dyea, Alaska. We walked in the footsteps of Tlingit native people, of 1897-98 gold rush stampeders…and of thousands of “modern day” hikers who have gone before us in the past several decades.
It took us 5 days and 4 nights. We camped at Canyon City, Sheep Camp, Happy Camp, and Bare Loon. We took the train back from Lake Bennett and saw the White Pass route. We enjoyed freeze dried food (which we took too much of) and we invented peanut butter enchiladas (with trail mix).
Overall, we had a grand time and are now reading about the history of the trail more, as having hiked it….we’re even more interested in learning about all the stories of those who have gone before.
Wow! The first day on the trail was like walking on water…I mean, walking OVER water. Beavers have dammed up the area and we were happy to have the boards to help keep us dry.
It was impressive to see the beaver’s work…I know now why they say, “busy as a beaver.” Their chompers really do a LOT of work! We saw trees gnawed down, just like the cartoons!
We’d spent one night on the trail when this photo was snapped. We were still smiling and ready to enjoy some good hiking. Though day 2 was fairly short (4-5 miles), it seemed pretty tough with the winding trail, rocks, and roots….and the up and down. 
But not nearly as tough as Day 3…The Pass!
We met some very nice people on the trail. The park service allows 50 hikers to start per day and we found that everyone was super nice! We didn’t take lots of photos, though, because we (I) was worried about running out of battery life. Alas, we only have this one shot really of Birti and Ingle, who are on a grand journey of 3 years. They left Germany and are having an adventure of a lifetime! We also met 3 extremely nice Canadian men who kept the fire going in the warming hut (when there was a stove)….a family with 2 little girls about 10 years old…another family from Georgia…the two ladies….and two groups with a dog! The people from the park service were wonderful, the hikers were great…it’s a community building event that felt really good. (Sort of like the Susan G. Komen 3 Day community…we Chilkoot hikers shared something pretty neat!)
Before hiking the Chilkoot, I’d wondered why it was so hard to find photos posted places….having done it, I know why. It’s a hands and knees climbing task that leaves no room for error…or photography.
I’m glad Lana was able to get this shot because you can see it goes straight up…we “hiked” like this for about 2-3 hours. Yikes!
That smile says it all! Great climbing, Lana!!
You can see how high the snow is at the summit. Apparently it should all melt in another few weeks. I was glad for the snow because it covered up some of the rocks we’d otherwise have to hike over.
The fog, though, was a bit of a mixed blessing. Lana wishes she could have actually seen where we’d hiked up from…me, I was glad to not see the several thousand feet down. I am not a fan of heights!
You can see the wheel near Lana’s foot, which is part of the tramway mechanism that was erected to help (for a fee) haul up stampeders goods. It added to the cost and wasn’t as popular a method as a backpack, but…it was an option some used in 1897-98.
The reason we needed to leave Sheep Camp by 6am was due to the avalanche danger after the summit. The risk increases as the day wears on. We exited the avalanche area around 11am, I think. (That whole third day was a bit foggy, both literally and figuratively.)
Anyhow, we were both a bit nervous, but were told at the ranger talk the night before it was a low to moderate avalanche risk. However, risk is risk. So, we heeded the advice to move through that zone swiftly and not dawdle. It was weird to be in the snow like that in mid-July…cool, but weird.
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