Up hill, both ways - in the snowJul 24, 2012
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| Tuesday morning we pulled into port early in Skagway. The view outside our window was beautiful snow capped mountains. Skagway is an extremely small town, only 8 blocks long and 4 blocks wide. There are about 800 permanent residents, but a good majority of them leave during the winters. The town came to be as a stop along the way to Dawson City during the 1898 gold rush and I guess some people just stayed! Dad, Mom and I each had excursions planned for the day so once we got settled in our hotel room we headed off to the meet up points. Mom and Dad were going on what was described as "short hike and float" while I was going on "rock climbing rappelling adventure." Mom and Dad left earlier than I did, so I spent the extra time walking around town. In the extra hour I had, I went in almost every store the town had to offer and had picked out anything I might want to return and buy later. I met up with the other rock climbers and we boarded a van and headed off toward the mountains. After a short drive and a quick hike through the woods we arrived at our site. We got geared up and were given a safety briefing before we got started. Each person was given 2 climbs. I didn't waste my first climb on the "bunny climb" and started on something a little bit harder. It took me a minute to get my footing and start up the rock face, but within a few minutes I managed to make it to the top. I rested a but before my second climb and cheered on the other climbers while I waited. All of the guides were really nice and are just seasonal workers that just come for the summer season and go back to "real live" once summer is over. (No.... I swear this has not put any seeds in my mind...) but I may just have to research what opportunities are out there! My second climb was a bit tougher, I slipped once and have the scratches/bruises to prove it, but I tried again and managed to make it to the top again. This one was about 80ft high and have great views. After everyone had their chances to climb we took another short hike up and around the rock face to a place where ropes were set up for us to rappel down. It was really fun and you got to go all Mission Impossible style if you wanted, but it was a bit unnerving to get started. Once you were roped in you have to put your heels over the edge of the cliff and and just lean back until your legs are pretty much perpendicular to the rock face. It wasn't the height that was scary, it was fighting your natural instincts to not lean backwards over a ledge. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad were off hiking and floating. The did part of one of the trails that was used by the gold miners to get up over the pass - Chilkoot Trail. It was harder than the description has been. The trail was covered with rocks and tree roots and Mom's knees were not enjoying it. She managed to fight through it with the help of dad and some other hikers that hung back from the main group. Their guided was really knowledgeable about the flora and fauna around them and even made Dad eat berries and try a fern. The second part of their excursion was the float. The got into an 8 person raft for a calm float down the Skagway River. Normally this is where a lot of salmon are but the river is running exceptionally fast and high this year, so all they ended up seeing for wildlife were two eagle nests - no eagles though. Once we met back up and swapped stories we headed off to the Skagway Brewing Company for dinner and to try the local brew. I also showed Mom and Dad the different things I had been looking at and I ended up buying a couple cool masks to add to my collection. All of the traditional ceremonial masks are either ridiculously expensive or all made in China - booo! I found a few stores that sold things only made in Alaska and bought from them. One mask is carved out of wood and is a "tree spirit" the other is made out of caribou antler with some kind of bird feathers. And that was a FULL day! |
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