FANTAIL TRAIL OVERLOOK, KLONDIKE HWY.
One last (maybe) shot of the spectacular scenery along the Gold Rush route we drove almost every day. This shot, with fresh snow on the mountain in the center and swriling storm clouds, is/was a hint to those still in Skagway for the summer that it was time to go. It was taken on Thursday, Sept. 21, my final day of work.
Also interesting to note are some the pine trees which have only limbs basically pointing south. The reason?? The winter winds which blow out of the north at up to 50mph taking temperatures in mid-winter to -30 below literally freeze the sap in the trunks and 'kill' the growth of the branches .

Tough job

ABOARD THE MV TAKU HEADING INTO KETCHIKAN, AK
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24. It's hard to believe right now, but we've escaped the cluthes of Skagway....but not the weather. The summer job is over; the next journey begins. Two nights and nearly two days on the Alaska Ferry System boat MV Taku has allowed us to wind down a bit and watch the rain, fog and low clouds from a dry and warm seat on the main observation deck. For exercise there were forays outside onto the rain and windswept deck to shoot photos of whale fins and whale tails but no 'whole' whales and the occassional lighthouse. The next best "hobby" was watching the unfortunate individuals who drew watch duty at the head of the boat when we headed into the harbors for docking and off-load / on-load of passengers and cars.
The individual in yellow didn't take his eyes off the churning waves on this one hour shift as we headed into Ketchikan, AK...and in a 30mph headwind with stinging rain this could not have been a fun job. Of course, this individual might have been low man on the totempole or a goof up. In any case, there were enough harbors to keep a number of these folks busy.
And just when you thought the ship had everything you needed, the cook in the cafeteria would break out into his Elvis personation and then practice between work shifts with a karioke machine. Free at last, free at last

Sunny Day

WHITE PASS, JUST INSIDE THE CANADIAN BORDER, Saturday, Sept. 16
My gosh, a sunny day. Actually the third sunny day in a row. Things are winding up in Skagway so it figures that we would get some good weather. I asked a Border Guard at Canadian Customs about what it would have been like to have about three months of this weather. His answer: "We probably would have spent a lot of time peering through the smoke from forest fires. So, I guess the gloomy weather through what took the place of the summer months does have an upside.
How friendly are the folks of Skagway?? A wedding invitation posted on the door of the Post Office invited the entire town to the ceremony and reception afterward for a couple from town.
The top photo is from one of the pull-off areas just past the summit of White Pass. This is an area we've been looking at for some time as there is a trail - - vaguely recognizable in the center of the pic at the bottom of the small cliff we're looking down from.
The bottom photo is of one of the waterfalls along the trail. It winds alongside this melt-water stream all the way (we guess since we didn't go more than halfway up) to the top of a ridge from where you can see - - more mountains.
Our favorite coffee shop, Haven Cafe, is closing today so we are spending the late afternoon on our computers. There are "Sale" signs in most of the shops on Broadway, which is the main street in Skagway. Bargains galore if you need T-shirts, hats, jackets, and lots of other things which fall into the classification of souvineers asnd are mostly tacky.

Foggy times on the trail

MONTANA MOUNTAIN RIDGE NEAR BIG THING MINE, Carcross, YT
Last week, and for nearly the last 15 years, whenever we hike I am designated SHERPA - - the one who trudges along with the backpack, takes pictures and carries energy bars or Snickers as the GUIDE hustles along ahead on the trail.
Here, with three trusty companions checking out three different directions, the GUIDE takes a moment to try and figure out if we've gone far enough up the trail and are cold and soaked enough to turn back. Sorry, but the command is "onward and upward."
As noted in an earlier Blog, I always think about how to get back while the GUIDE is thinking that if we hike high enough we may get above the clouds and who knows what might be there.
Anyway, I liked the picture and the patience of our friends' 'trusty friends' (left to right) Fibber McGee, LocoBones and Dingo.

The long and winding road

SKAGWAY, AK, Sept. 9
Views like this one of the Klondike Highway heading towards Skagway and the Pacific Coast Range mountains separating Alaska and Canada will be a vision of the past soon. This portion of the highway is one we (LH and I) drive nearly every time we do tours - - very familiar and very spectacular. It's one we'll miss as the days wind down and our 'servitude' in Skagway comes to an end.
Unless Florida has grown a mountain range with 7,000' peaks and glaciers, we will only be able to recall scenes like this from memory backed up by the photos we've taken.
Since we stayed in Skagway to watch the rain instead of camping out in Whitehorse, we've spent most of Saturday sitting in Haven Cafe (7 blocks from our cabin) with a lot of other summer time refugees working on the internet, reading, chatting and drinking coffee.

Snow and fish

CHILKAT EAGLE PRESERVE, Klukwan, AK, Sept. 2, 2006
This Imature Eagle (young, about 2-3 years old since he is only mottled white) is keeping an eye on two First Nations (Tlingit Indian Nation) individuals in a row boat just below the tree he is in. They were netting salmon and he was looking for easy pickings. In November, about 3-4,000 eagles show up along the river in this eagle preserve.



HAINES JUNCTION, YT., Sept. 3, 2006
Fresh snow on the St. Elias Mountains north of Haines Junction. The mt. range is in Kluane National Park. We've already seen light dusting on mtns. near Skagway, but this snow is letting everyone in the area know that winter isn't far off. There were mountains with a much heavier covering, but when we got outside from breakfast the clouds had dropped down to obscure the 10-14,000 peaks.

Time Change

SKAGWAY, AK, SEPTEMBER 1
We went out to breakfast this morning which is what we usually do on Friday to celebrate the end of another week. There was a sign up in our favorite cafe: "The End Is Near....26" This wasn't a biblical reference but one which meant that the last cruise ship docks in Skagway on Sept. 26.
It was almost as if a different feeling is not sweeping town with the end of the season growing near but nobody dared talk about things until September rolled around. Now conversations begin with: "How many days to you have left" or, more to the point, "When are you leaving" The jobs which seemed never-ending are now russing to conclusion. People share sympathy with those who will be left behind to clean up, lock up and turn out the lights when the last tourist leaves.
After two days of solid rain the sign in the cafe might well be a warning to build your ark now while you have time...as the forecast for the next 5 to 7 days doesn't look much better

Sunny Day in Whitehorse

SCHWATKA LAKE, WHITEHORSE, YT
Things to do if you've got a bit of extra money to spend on a sunny day in Whitehorse

Correction

WHITEHORSE, YT, August 27
OOPS! The fine looking fellow in the photo above is named Hobbes - - from the (no longer published) "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip. Now since the Hobbes in the strip was a stuffed tiger the relationship must be more to the frenetic and deep thinking Calvin, who never met mischief he couldn't figure a way to get into.
Additionally, if you've followed Lydia's blog you'll know that the original posting showed up on her site as a feline named Hops..blame the mistake on too many years in motorsports to always hear and understand what others are saying although this can come in handy some times as an excuse

Friends along the trail

(Above) This Malmute / Samoyed mix greeted us at the Salmon Fish Ladder in Whitehorse. He had a Samoyed companion as a playmate. (Middle) This guy is named LocoBones and he's the companion of a couple of friends who work at Carribou Crossing which is an attraction on one of our tours. (Bottom) The ledgend goes that when the fireweed starts to get this white/cotten-ish cover - - after it's regular fushia-colored blooms have fallen off - - that winter is on the way. Since we've seen leaves turning color for the past two weeks we tend to believe in the forecast.

Foggy Days

On the Klondike Highway heading to White Pass, August 24
It's 1pm on another bright and sunny day in Skagway. Oops. Well the sun is probably shining somewhere but it sure isn't in Skagway. So what we have here is the view from the driver's seat in the tour bus I'm driving up the mountain at about 20mph. It's real quiet inside because in conditions like this nobody talks much....including me. Except to point out that we may be fools BUT the Cruise Ship Sheep in the van pulling that load of bicycles in front of us really have a few screws loose because they paid for an adventure and are going to ride down the mountain in this fog. This is not something avid cyclists who are knowlegable would do "for fun" but then we don't go on cruises either. And to make it more fun for all I have to dodge around these folks.
Unfortunately, this has been typical of weather near the top of the White Pass. South winds off the Lynn Canal blow the low cloud cover against the mountains and we ending up driving by braile.
Note the post hanging out over the side of the road. These are warning devices for the snowplow / snowblower drivers. The vehicles have spotlights on top of the cab and the lighter portion of the bar reflects light telling the driver he is at least still on the road. If the light hits the red portion then things could be getting a bit 'iffy' because they are either close to the rock wall or the guardrails - - and looking at the guardrails lining the road you can see they are beaten and banged up. Now if you make a big mistake on the guardrail side you could end up about 300' below and that's a long climb back up .... if you survive.
The other point to consider is that in December and January it starts getting light around 10am and the darkness drops at 3pm. The road is a 365 day road because of the fuel depot and container cargo facilities in Skagway which deliver fuel and goods into Canada.

Flower Power

Bean North Coffee Roasters, Takhini Hot Springs Road, Whitehorse, YT.
A return to the coffee shop we visited last week was in order to check how the beans are doing....and the flowers

Golden Eye

On the Klondike Highway near Lake Tutshi
One of the neat places we visit has eagles which are being either rehabilitated, learning to fly and hunt or being kept in a natural wild environment because they have been injured (at one time) and have recovered but will never be able to survive in the wild since they can no longer fly or fly well enough to feed themselves.
The bird pictured is a 10-week-old male Golden Eagle. It and a sister are being nurtured and ready to start training to get a feel for hunting in the wild. The two were taken from a nest soon after hatching..a practice which guaranteed that they would live as in multi-chick nests the strong kill the weaker/younger birds as a basic survival instince.
This guy - - who has no name yet - - is just learning how to fly. He still needs to learn how to land as the landings I've seen would make a great comedy film. He has been known to get quite vocal when people are around ... and also when they are not.

(BELOW) The salmon are taken from the net, checked and then (mostly) released back into the water to continue on.
(ABOVE) An overall shot of the catch/record/release enclosure with the power plant in the background

Fishy things 2

The team nets the salmon in the holding tank and registers male/female; wild/tagged (from fishery eggs) and they releases them into the other side of the ladder or takes away some females to retrieve eggs for hatchlings

Fishy things 1

WHITEHORSE, YT
This is a "fish ladded" which makes it possible for the fish to bypass the dam in the Yukon river as they head upstream

Coffee Beans in the woods

Tahkini Hot Springs Road, north of Whitehorse, YT
The adventure started with a Friday night escape from Skagway and the first of two nights in the Robert Service Campgrond near Whitehorse. It continued with a trip to the Hot Springs, only to find the facility closed due to filming of scenes for a Canadian-made movie.
We had spotted a sign on the way in noting the location of North Bean Coffee Roasting - - a well known brand in all the coffee shops we visit. Not only did they have a coffee shop, but cookies and other goodies PLUS wi-fi and so the guy who can't get enough coffee has found heaven in the woods ... as seen in the pic above.
The first thing done this morning was to head to the Salmon Steps to see if any more fish had made it to the area (see lydiahinshaw.blogspot.com for info on last weeks visit). They had and we got to see a lot of good action as 4 guys worked to check, release or harvest today's travelers. (Photos should be up soon on both our blogs)

UPDATE
I've been off the blog lately because I was frustrated at our inconsistent wi-fi which seems to upload LH pics but not mine...anyway it's still cool and cloudy most of the time with about 1 day in 10 showing any sun. This is always fun while doing tours as we go from 50' above sea level in Skagway to 3292 at the top of White Pass. This is an appropriate name for the pass as 4 out of the last five days we've driven over it the only thing you could see was the yellow stripes in the middle of the road. The saying goes: "there are no non-believers on the bus in this weather." Good thing they can't see the white knuckles on the steering wheel.

Home, sweet home

On The Road to Atlin, British Columbia
Sure, it might need a little work but you've got to admit it could be a sharp looking retirement home. Now, there's no running water, sewer or electricity but those are small details. Check out the landscaping...how the fuschia-colored fireweed accents the rustic appeal of the log construction. Note the roof. With a little work all you would have to do is mow it once in a while. Ventilation could be a problem with one window because of the mosquito population but we can probably overlook that.
Too bad I didn't take the photo to show the nice parking area in front of the cabin, not that you would need much since the best - - or worst - - thing about the location of the cabin is that it is in the middle of nowhere on the Atlin Road. This is a dirt road with a small amount of traffic going to a place - Atlin - which is scenically spectacular. No more thoughts about Skagway being at the end of the road. Atlin is way more remote. Of course we might have to get into the hermit/sourdough way of life to survive. Dream on

Gold Miner

The yellow spot at the top of the stairs is intrepid blogger Lydia....on our hike on Montana Mountain

July 21

The eagle (above) and the 4-week old puppy are just hanging out...sort of like what we are doing as the weather conspires to ruin about half or more of our days off. That's a problem when you're at the end of the road and to find some different things to do requires a 50-plus mile drive one-way...or more. Like our hike up to the abondoned mines. Maybe tomorrow and Sunday will be a bit better.

All steamed up

SKAGWAY, AK. You can almost hear the whistle blow and the chuff-chuff-chuff of the steam engine driving the wheels.

Just a speck of dust in the universe

CARRIBOU MT., YUKON TERRITORY.. Click on the above photo to enlarge it and look for the small speck in the center of the pic which resembles a person. Yes, folks that's me and it's all downhill from here...actually from a lot higher up but who's counting. Photo by Lydia "I can climb higher than you can" Hinshaw. There's one-upsmanship and then there's really one-upsmanship. We'll tackle this climb again, hopefully in as nice weather

A bit of this and that

SKAGWAY, AK..June 25 This is one of those brown bears. He (we're assuming it's a he) showed up in a turn-out on the road coming back from our hike on Carribou Mt. (Read all about it on Lydia's blog: lydiahinshaw.blogspot.com). He was wandering among the dandelions and other plants eating some of everything like it was a buffet. He looks friendly enough.
This fellow was strolling between areas of greens just off the road in another turn-around. Looks like a well fed rascal but he could move very quickly as we saw when a piece of paper blew out of the weeds nearby and he pounced. It was a very good visual lesson on why you don't run if you come across one of these guys - - black or brown.
So here's lydia hanging out on the side of the trail which we had to scramble / climb up like a ladder to get to. Funny, but there was a much easier way but we had missed it. My thoughts once we got up to an area which was a bit level weren't on "how high can we go" as Lydia and our friend Kate were debating but more like "how the hell do I get down." I have a sort of reverse thinking process: while everyone else is speculating how far or how high we can get my mind is thinking about all the fun we'll have trying to get down. This type of thought process runs counter to Lydia's thinking quite often which makes for occassional lively debates.

We don't have any pics from our hike to Upper Dewey Lake yesterday. The trail gained 3,000 ft. in 3 miles which is about a 20% grade most of the time - - up and down. This is the same hike where 5 weeks ago - - as Lydia termed it - - I 'turned turtle' when I broke through the snow crust and tweaked my left knee. No injuries this time, but as one of our co-workers noted "must have been quite a hike 'cause your butt sure is draggin' Nothing like a few words of encouragement as you slowly make your way up to where we work / live. Of course we could have saved a bit of ridicule by driving the mile to the trailhead but then you have to find a parking spot, etc. so we just walked.

Update 2

Skagway, AK Monday, June 19 ... On-off rain showers and dark skies make this day off really dreary. Our internet connection hs been down for 5 days now so we've resorted to hitting an internet cafe near us an buying time on a provider. Sounds good until you try to upload pics which look like they are going to work and then, after 10 mins., the upload calls it quits.

So, here we are with bear pics, train pics, serious climbing pics and no way to put them up ... yet. We're told that the internet at our cabin will be back on 'soon' so stand by to see pictures of our adventures sometime.


For a place which is supposed to get less rain than other parts of Alaska in the vicinity it sure rains a lot. But that doesn't stop the cruise ships from dumping lots of tourists in town.

Water we doing today??

Today we had a day off so we jumped on the Chilkat Fast Ferry and headed off to Haines. Now, it if was more tech savvy I would have put the flag pic (below) first since that's the one which shows us leaving Skagway. It also shows us leaving the pollution which casts a blue haze on the mountains from the ships stacks as the engines run all the time.

Picture two (above) shows a cruise ship passing Haines which doesn't get very many cruise boats at all and is very nice and quiet; the harbor is scenic and surrounded by the Chilkat Mtns. which top 10,000'

Picture three is a shot of one of the Alaska Marine Highway Ferrys as it was leaving skagway on Monday afternoon. This boar is similiar to the one we watched unload a couple of days ago. You can see the on/off load door in the center of the ship near the waterline. Don't ask what happens if they don't get the door closed all the way and water-tight.

Sebastian prowls the neighborhood

SKAGWAY, AK This guy means business. This is Sebastian The Great. We're not sure Great what??? but he looks great anyway. His territory is down the driveway from our cabin. His humans say he isn't very friendly but he will come out to greet me and rub up against my legs if I call him. This is good because my cat at home, Alf, pictured elsewhere on each blog, looks similiar. However, Alf has about a two inch stub for a tail so Sebastian is ahead on the category.

Lately, we've spent time at the docks watching the cruise ships arrive in the morning and other times watch them leave at night. Last night, we watched the Alaskan Marine Highway Ferry "Taku" ease into the ferry dock and unload 21 motorhomes, 23 cars, and five other various connveyances plus a few folks on bicycles and passengers. Skagway is the end of the line from Bellingham, WA. While the ferry was pulling into port a Bald Eagle was catching dinner in the harbor, the sun was setting, it had been sunny all day and we had ice cream cones for desert.

The local newspaper publishes every two weeks and includes, among other things, a police blotter of happenings in the world of law enforcement: A white poodle was picked up for loitering; a black Lab was picked up for loitering; both dogs were returned to the owners. The police assisted 5 individuals in getting their keys out of locked cars. The police reported that in the past two weeks they found the doors to 17 local businesses unlocked during their nighttime rounds. Such is life in the big city. Hey, we have Skagway Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit system busses patroling the 7 blocks of shopping areas..Do you know of another "city" of 850, now about 1,300, which has a little bus system with a big name.

Also, when the last cruise ship departs at night they blow they deep-toned whistle which reverbs throughout the valley....as does the whistle on the special Saturday Morning Steam Train. Both are really beautiful sounds in the quiet valley.

I'm going to be the lead dog when I grow up

CARRIBOU CROSSING, Yukon Territory: This little guy is all of 5 weeks old but he's already thinking about the big sled dog race, the Yukoner, which all his older extended family wants to race in. This deep thinker doesn't have a name yet, but we'll call him "Champ" ...or maybe he isn't thinking at all about the race but how nice it is to hide in the shade under the sled and go back to sleep. He has 4 siblings - 2 with his same light brownish color and 2 with white coats. The mother dog's name is Otter and none of the puppies resembles her at all.
The 4 puppies from the litter before this one are sbout 10 weeks old and have been banished from active contact with humans because they are scamps and will bite/tug on your pants leg; go after floppy shoelaces and in general be a nusance. But they are still cute.

Bear with me, please

We call this bear the "Canadian Customs Bear" because his stomping grounds are about 2 miles from the customs checkpoint. Friday morning (June 2) he (most likely) was enjoying a late breakfast of blood and guts from a roadkill. Maybe he/she also gobbled up the remains. First we lick the blood off the road and then we settle in to contemplate our claws - - right in the traffic lane.

Money, honey

This is one of the guys on the block...or Klondike Highway. This is not a bear, this is a "tip" machine. You quickly find out in the Skagway Tour Guide business that no matter how good you are with facts or how many interesting stories you tell, that animal sightings - specifically bears - generate tips better than anything. Of course, a Moose or Caribou or Porkpine or Eagle will do nicely, but is one of the guys pictured which makes a tourist happy.

So what you have is a bear sighting which is ok; better to see a bear close by the side of the road and even better is the bear stares at your tour bus like he (or she) figures you and the folks inside are just a bit "off."

We haven't gotten jaded yet at sighting bears or seeing another spectacular mountain still covered with snow. Cruise ship traffic every day of the week can get a bit hectic, but they certainly never send ugly ships.

And speaking of "cute", if you want to see a Husky puppy from one of our neater tour stops visit: lydiahinshaw.blogspot.com. It's not all tourists and bus washing.

Harry, the Hoary Marmot..my little buddy from Montana..has ridden along with me on a couple of tours. When you don't see any animals, Harry gets to make a guest appearance. This is not one of his favorite chores. He wasn't along last week when I spied a couple of his Alaska cousins who had apparentnly just come out of hibernation as they were sort of scrawny guys.

This is one of the guys on the block...or Klondike Highway. This is not a bear, this is a "tip" machine.

Train-ing time

WHITE PASS SUMMIT, Alaska / Yukon Territory
Sunday, May 21, 2006

It's been 9 days since the last post which means lots of bus washing, vacuuming, window cleaning and talking. There are now at least 72 Aussies (3 tours of 24 each) who have had the pleasure of riding with the Silver Tongued Devil. "And how long have you lived here, mate?" (Three weeks). "My, but you sound like you've been doing this awhile." (7 separate tours to date). "How bad does it get in the winter?" (I'll be enjoying the sunshine back in Florida by then.)
Long story short: the Aussies (that's pronounced Ozzie, not auss like boss) are great, fun lovers who can take and give a bit of 'roughing it up'.

So today, Sunday, May 21, was a day off and in commemoration of this auspicious occassion we took a trail ride to the summit of the mountains to the North of us and back.
On this day in 1898 construction began on the British financed, American engineered and Canadian contracted White Pass & Yukon RailRoad. The project, which saw 35,000 individuals working -- at one time or another -- to finish it, continued non-stop for 26 months. Snow with depths to 30-feet, raging North winds and temperatures which dipped to nearly -60below did not deter the company from completion. Of course the sickness, frostbite and avalanches didn't help much...and when you're playing with 450 tons of explosives you have to expect a little collateral damage.
The rail line was supposed to make money from those pursuing their dreams in the Klondike Gold Rush, but by the time it was finished on July 29, 1900 gold had been discovered elsewhere and it was "freight and passengers" rather than Stampeeders and Gold that the line hauled.
**The above photo is of one of the trains as it is today, a tourist bonanza for the company. Here, we are just about to reach the summit of White Pass (2,865') still under snow cover. At this point the Stampeeders in 1898 are getting ready to cross the Canadian Border at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police checkpoint on the trail towards the Yukon. By Feb. 20, 1899 tracks had been laid to this point - - but the gold rush was in its waining days.
The best part about the train ride was that we got a deeeep discount on the tickets because the WP&YRR encourages all the "summer help" to take a ride so they can better inform cruise ship passengers about the trip. Even competitors like us because to really get the full impact of the scenery you need to do both types of tours.

Four legged friends on the trail

Turned loose in tour guide land

The season has started!!! That means that from when a ship comes in until it leave "cruise cows" meander down Broadway in Skagway like a drunken herd ignoring traffic and common sense in search of tacky souvenirs, numerous pictures and at times actually drinking in the surrounding snow covered mountains and glaciers = = when visible, of course.
Our job is to avoid running over any of those wandering while imparting out knowledge of the rigors of catching 'goldrush fever' and the hardship of those who ran the 70 saloons, were purveyers of 'negotiable affection' and the rest of those who worked hard to put Skagway on the map.
First day (Wednesday) jitters?? Nope. My first-ever tour was a group of 14 individuals from Taiwan who spoke little english and their tour guide who had some command of the language. He must have been paid by the word as he kept up a rapid-fire commentary for most of the trip. He could have been discussing anything as far as i knew.
Once we got to the top of the White Pass and into the deep snow country the folks showed their true colors...snowball fights, lots of picture taking and excited chatter.
You always hope to see some animals, but we didn't. So I had Harry (my marmot buddy) make an appearance. This brought about a lot of conversation which probably meant they were wondering what the guy with the grey beard was doing with that cute marmot. In any event, they clapped loudly when i stopped back at the dock (FIRST RULE FOR TOUR GUIDES: if they clap your tips are in the crapper). Luckily, the interpreter made a slick hand off - - ca-ching - - and day one was in the books.

Does a bear **** in the woods?? You betcha

Skagway, AK

History Lesson for today: The bears are awake and out wandering around looking for FOOD!!! And although we've been told that bears mainly eat berries, grubs, roots and various other items, they also eat MEAT!! And they've been asleep all winter and they are really, really HUNGRY!!

Which is why, when you come across a trail marker like the one above you pay special attention. This deposit right in the middle of the trail wasn't a case of bad manners. No, this was the bears' way of making us exclaim: Oh S**t. And we weren't pointing out to one another that the bear had poor potty training.

A find like this is usually followed to by two reactions: (1) You assess how fresh the find is. If it is still steaming in the cold air, you got problems because you're in his/her neighborhood and he/she may not know this because you've been hiking along quietly going through the 400 songs in you Ipod in your mind. So you talk loud, clap your hands and look very, very carefully around. (2) After assessing all the dangers you can think of, checking on how quick you can get at your bear spray (which is basically a super-sized can of Mace), photographing the evidence to report to the Park Ranger and assuring each other "hey, no problem", you continue your hike.

ITEMS: The upload of the photo to the blog site took longer than the download of the item photographed. If the situation you get into requires use of the bear spray the bear will be close enough to tell is he/she has bad breath.

Sunday was our day off and we wanted to get a feel for at least a little bit of the Chilkoot Trail. The first mile had enough up/down/gnarly/nasty/wet sections to make anybody with goldrush fever and a 50+ pound pack that undertaking 33 miles of the Chilkoot Trail might not be 'fun.' The good part was - - and you've got to be an optimist here - - that it was winter time so the bears were hibernating and there were no mosquitos.

We saw the Skagway chief of police (out on patrol) on the narrow dirt road which leads back towards town. I informed him of what we had found so he could pass it on to the Ranger. He asked me if I was disappointed that I didn't see the carnivore who had marked the trail. Yeah, right.

Tourist for a day

Skagway, AK, May 6
Actually we felt like tourists on Friday on a training run to Carcross, about 40 miles from Skagway. The sun came out. And stayed out for nearly an hour. This was the longest period of sunshine we have seen since arriving. It made the snow on the mountains really look sharp.
Leave it to the enterprising local merchants at the Red Onion to give us a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the anything-but-Mexico like weather. Mexican buffet, all you can eat, $7. You won't find dinner any cheaper. You won't find dinner at all if you don't arrive when they start to serve. No food 30 mins. after the buffet opened. Of course it did encourage those who like a bit of alcohol with the tex-mex-skagway style soft tacos to down a few.
For those with keen eyes, double-click on the pic of the list and check out what items you had to have to enter Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush. This isn't a wish list or a reccommended list; this is you better have it list or we won't let you in. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had this list and, like Santa Claus, were checking it twice to make sure each individual had the required - - mandated, actually - - items; about 1-ton (2,000lbs) of goods which cost around $500 and had to be carrried up to the Mountie station / border crossing before the gold seekers could enter Canada and continue another 550 miles to get to where the gold was found.
It's raining so we're hiking. This is the end of a day of training we did by attending a number of local attractions. It was put on by the Skagway Chapter of the Alaska Travel Industry - - quite informative and free.
Back to the hike which was a short one up to Dewey Lake and pretty popular judging by all the locals who didn't mind the rain either.
We've had a NOAA ship in port for the past 3 days - - that's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency

Skagway Olympic Luge Run

Click on the accompanying photo to enlarge it and check out this winter time play ground. The thrill of a lifetime awaits the brave soul who can make it to the top of the run; you just hope you can hold your breath long enough to reach the bottom. Look closely and you can follow the course of the run from top to bottom.
Of course, if you don't get stopped you'll slide right out onto Lake Tutshi Olympic Skating Arena. No problem there as the lake is about 20 miles long and very wide.
Lest you think I am kidding we saw a parasail a few miles down the road back toward Skagway. The weather conditions at this point included below freezing temps with 20mph wind and blowing snow. You couldn't see the individual as they were in a depression/ravine away from the roadway. Whoever was attached to it was probably - - we think - - trying to air-power a sled or maybe skis.
This person was a definite candidate for the Luge Run.

Skagway Olympic Luge Run