Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
nothing wrong with this section of trail that a couple of sticks of dynamite wouldn't cure,”
Rhonda said, and then added, “But I have the can-do attitude, so I will be fine.” It was our
mantra afterward, we were the Rhonda Sleighter Chilkoot Trail Party in the year 2000, we
had the can-do attitude, and we would be fine. Four miles later we lunched at Finnegan's
Point, where in 1897 Pat Finnegan and his two sons built a bridge and charged a toll of
two dollars until the press of stampeders rolled right over the top of them. We camped that
first night in Canyon City, in a muggy, buggy rain forest with trees so tall we couldn't see
the sky. Before dinner we walked the half mile to the ruins of Canyon City, the southern
terminus of the aerial tramway, completed in 1898, which would haul freight the fourteen
miles from Canyon City up and over the Chilkoot Pass, the gold rush precursor of air
cargo. At seven and a half cents a pound, the cost was out of reach of most stampeders.
All that is left today is the boiler that provided its power.
The next day, more rain forest, more bugs, a sheer cliff face that had Rhonda rethinking
her great idea (“But I have the can-do attitude, I'm fine”), and we arrived at Sheep Camp,
where that evening Ranger Suzanne gave a talk.
First she made what she called the August 1
st
Team Chilkoot introduce itself. There
were two large groups, one a guided hike from Vancouver, led by Len Webster, who was
on his tenth Chilkoot hike and who has that Canadian twinkle in his eyes (When asked at
Canyon City what there was to see at Sheep Camp, he replied solemnly, “Nothing. Except
me.” Worked for me.) There was a mother from Wasilla who thought hiking the Chilkoot
would be empowering for her two daughters, both of whom were along, as was their god-
mother, who showed extreme good sense in preparing for the next day's hike by sleeping
through the ranger talk in their tent. There were two guys from Belgium who smiled a lot
and were always first out in the mornings, a couple from Toronto on their honeymoon
who were still speaking to each other by Bennett Lake, which augured well for their con-
tinued future together, and another couple in their seventies hiking the pass with their
daughter and son-in-law. For the whole five days, the daughter kept saying, “Where's
Mom?” and she'd look around and say, “Oh. She's right here.” There was geologist Cara
Wright of Anchorage, who felt it was part of her job to the hike the Chilkoot, making the
trip with Karen, Linda and Michelle, who, I noted enviously, were very well supplied with
myriad small bottles of liquor and liqueur.
