Skagway Drag
Monday, September 02, 2013
Skagway, Alaska, United States
Skagway is a small Alaskan town of little remarkable other
than its setting and its claim as the terminus for the White Pass and Yukon
Railway . I opt for the Sawtooth Mountain Nature Hike but it doesn’t depart
until just after noon. So, for the morning, I decide to walk the town and not
the deck of the Radiance. The place is flat as a pancake nestled in the Taiya
River Valley. A rainforest surrounds the place and you are instantly aware that
wilderness encompasses you.
On my walk I note that Sprint has no service here while
other carriers serve their customers well. No coffee shop or bar or restaurant
offers wifi. They seem to be proud that you can’t connect anywhere except at
the Internet Café on one of the side streets. Stopping in a the Tourist
Information Center, Charlie spills the beans that they turn on the wifi signal
at the Skagway Library at 10:00 in the morning if I want to sit on a bench
outside and use that for free.
I decide to walk and walk I do. Without a phone signal I
can’t use my mapping app but, according to elapsed time I am guessing I got
almost seven miles in . Along the way I cross several tiny streams so narrow
that you can step across their fast moving water flows. Each one contains
salmon in the very final stage of their migration to their birthplace. Here
they will deposit their eggs and die. I see many large fish that have completed
their life journeys and begin to rot. At this final stage of life these fish
are not edible except for ravens who pick at their eyes and dogs that seem
happy to eat their mushy flesh and roll in their stinking remains. Dog owners
routinely fence their yards to prevent their pets from doing what comes naturally.
At noon I meet Leah and two other guests for the hike into
the Sawtooth National Forest. We will ride the WP&YRR train for 5.8 miles
to a roadless wilderness stop marked only with a sign that says “Denver.” Then,
we set off on a glacially carved valley trail which traces the East Fork of the
Skagway River. This valley is deeper than the Grand Canyon. The trail is
craggy, muddy and rocky. Frankly, being an inexperienced hiker, I spend more
time watching my footing than enjoying the surroundings . This might not have
been the best choice for me. We hike in two miles and then retrace our steps to
be back at “Denver” to be picked up by the train at exactly 4:00pm.
By day’s end I am literally exhausted. I overdid it today on
my feet. We sail at 8:30 for Icy Strait Point. Our ship is ensconced among
mountains in the Inside Passage and scenery abounds. Our route is carefully
chosen and we have a local pilot on board to help make certain we keep to the
strait(s) and narrow.
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