Skagway
A small history lesson is required here. Remember back in school when they talked about the gold rush boom towns and ghost towns? Well this the area. I always had the impression that there where boom and ghost towns spread out over all of Alaska but no I think there were only a couple of each that were major. Skagway was one and for an interesting reason.
Back around 1900 gold was discovered in the Yukon Valley also known as the Klondike Gold Rush. Since the Wright brothers had not even flown at Kitty Hawk by this time, the only ways to travel were foot, horse, boat, or train. There were no roads or trains in Alaska at that time which only leaves boat travel as the only way to get there. From the map you can see a problem. One of the largest mountain ranges in North America separates the Sea from the Yukon Valley. In the second map and the relief map you can see where they found the only 2 ways across. One in Skagway and on in Dyea (listed as Klondike gold Rush park). With only two viable routes all of the gold rush traffic flowed through one of the two towns, hence the towns exploded in growth. The route via Dyea was shorter, but it was so steep that you could not take a horse but given the route was shorter there was still demand for each. What turned Dyea in to a ghost town (its gone now) was when someone built a train route from Skagway. Interesting to know that the boom and ghost towns didn’t “just happen” but were based on trade and terrain.
A typical day in Skagway may start fogged in and change to sun before noon. Pictures four and five are from the same location taken about 5 hours apart.
1. Google maps, note the mountains between the sea and the Yukon Valley
2. The only two routes across the mountains
3. A relief map in the Skagway City Museum
4-5.Two pictures from the same location 5 hours apart
6-7.The town of Skaway
8-9. Cruise ships at dock
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