First we visited the information centre and learned all about theKlondyke gold rush of 1898. The Stampeders as they were called had to choose between the White Pass route leaving from Skagway and the Chilkoot trail leaving from Dyea about 8 km away from Skagway. Chilcoot was steeper and shorter but White Pass was meant to be alright for pack animals although thousands of animals died on the track due to owner ignorance. Due to the Canadian mounties wanting to protect these guys from themselves they imposed a rule that they needed supplies to last a year, one ton of gear and supplies, in order to cross the Canadian border. Once the Stampeders got to the top of the pass they then built boats and floated their gear down the Yukon river to Dawson City and then up the Klondyke. Apparently it was a very tough journey and when they finally got to the Klondyke most of them found that the ground was already claimed.
The train ride was very good, lasted from about 1:30 to 4:30 and we saw lots of scenery and 3 black bears!
