512. Wanda's Wanda-rings: Chilkoot Trail
This well known logo of the Chilkoot Trail, carved by deniserows of AK, has now left the "Wanda's Wanda-rings" Series in RI and is back in its home state, overlooking the docks of Skagway, where many of the Klondike Gold Rushers of 1898 first came into town!

This famous image of the Klondike Gold Rushers toting their 2000 lb. required load of survival goods in multiple trips up the "Golden Stairs" and over Chilkoot Pass first caught my fancy while watching the movie "White Fang" many years ago - (the 45 degree angle of that icy staircase is actually considerably more daunting than it appears on the logo!) - so naturally this was one of the trails I most looked forward to backpacking in the 1990's, long after it had become a historic ghost town trail. And I'm so glad that I got to backpack it back then, too, while it was still free, unrestricted, and relatively quiet, since the crowds, permits and fees currently required for hiking this trail would now probably greatly put me off!

Anyway, backpacking the Chilkoot Trail in 1992 was a real "dream trip" for me, even though it only lasted a couple of days, since, at scarcely 33 miles long, this was definitely one of the shortest backpacks I've ever done in my life! Still, there was plenty of ice and snow even in August, as Canadian Royal Mounties awaited visitors at the top of the pass just as they did during the Gold Rush. Unlike the hordes of 1898, however, on the day I passed through there were only a handful of other hikers from places like Germany, Italy, and Australia - no other Americans - quietly waiting out the snowstorm.

On our 2013 Alaskan cruise tour, Pete and I didn't even have time to go the extra dozen or so miles back and forth from Skagway to the ghost town of Dyea, where the Chilkoot Trail officially begins, let alone think about re-hiking the trail itself. So, we decided to drop off this stamp near where I camped on my last night in Skagway before getting back on the Alaskan ferry to head home and marry Pete!

To find this general area from the Skagway cruise ship docks, go toward the railroad crossing near 2nd Avenue and follow the signs for the Dewey Lake Trail. Cross the green bridge to the Dewey Lake Trailhead kiosk. Head up the trail to the right of the kiosk, and then, after curving a bit left, turn right at the junction with a sign for "Lower/Upper Lake Trail" and "Sturgill's Landing". Go down the steps, cross under the large pipe, and head up towards a rocky ledge overlooking Skagway harbor. Standing on the trail, with the lookout off to your right, find the tree directly ahead harboring both a blue/silver trail marker disc and black-outlined white arrows, with a couple of rocks in front of it. Position yourself to the left of the rocks, take about 30 steps straight ahead (south) on a smaller "unofficial" path, zig-zag right (west) five steps to avoid the "blow-down", then go another 30 steps south from "just under the wire" to an old campfire circle with a tumbled down chimney just a tad further south. Carefully opening the little camo pouch stashed in a nook at the foot of the rock at the foot of the birch with the foot-long rusty hook protruding from its base (about 4 steps west of the campfire ring and 7 steps north of the chimney remnants) just might yield, well, if not actual gold, then perhaps at least a small impression of the Chilkoot Trail and the Klondike Gold Rush! As usual for us now in our "travelin' light mode", we did not include a logbook here, but please feel free to let us know if you find "treasure", and make sure to reseal the pouch and re-hide it with consideration for other "treasure-seekers", too!

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