Day 5: Skagway

The day started loudly around 7am when some family decided they were the only people on ship, and needed to fill the space with noise. Emma’s cold was no better, but good enough we didn’t have to cancel our trip on the White Pass & Yukon Route railway.
A good thing too, as this was another highlight of the trip. We had fabulous clear weather, with a touch of nicely art-directed cloud up in the pass. To give some indication of how much I loved the views I took over 200 photos that day.

It wasn’t so much of a tourist destination during the Alaskan gold rush. Skagway was the major port leading into the Yukon. Conditions were so tough that at one time prospectors were required by law to carry one ton of supplies with them before being allowed to proceed north. Dozens of men and something like 4,000 horses died going over the pass before the railway was built. Considering how demanding the route is between Skagway and White Pass I can only imagine how horrendous it must have been elsewhere.
Today it’s a two-hour train trip to the border in a sealed railcar. Being a tough pioneering type I actually stood on the area between the carriages for up to five minutes at a time.
Back at the port, eagle-eye Emma spotted two humpbacks off the starboard side of our ship. I managed a few photos, but lacked the lenses and shutter speed to get a good shot.
I did manage a half decent sail-out shot.

I like this place.