The Chilkoot Trail, was the most famous route taken by prospectors
and would be miners who made their way to the Klondike Gold Rush in
the Yukon. It all started when gold was discovered in the year 1896
on Bonanza Creek, a tributary of the Klondike River, just 17.7 km (
11 mi.) from Dawson City. In 1897 when the word got on, the Klondike
Gold Rush was on. People from all walks of life, stampeded to the gold
fields. The most popular route to the gold fields, was over the Chilkoot
Pass from Alaska through British Columbia and into the Yukon.
The Chilkoot Pass, was an aboriginal trail that had been used for years
by the First Nations people who lived in this region. The complete journey
meant, a trip by ship from Seattle, Washington to the town of Skagway
in Alaska. From here it was overland by way of the Chilkoot Pass to
the headwaters of Yukon River at Lindeman Lake or onto Bennett Lake,
both located in British Columbia. To continue the rest of the way to
Dawson City, the prospectors and miners built boats and rafts that were
put into the water at either Lindeman or Bennett and the trek was completed
by water
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The Original Chilkoot Trail of 1897
The topography and the weather made this trip extremely harsh, and
adding to the very harsh conditions, was a law that stated all who entered
Canada could only do so, if they brought in their own food supplies
that would last them a year. To enforce this regulation, at the summit
of the pass was a North West Mounted Police Station. This regulation
meant that every miner had to haul almost 900 kg (a ton) of food over
the border. This could take a person close to three months to haul gear
from cache to cache. After they reached the summit and the B.C. border,
they still had a long way to go to reach Dawson City in the Yukon. Most
made the rest of the trip by either boat or rafts they built at either
Lindeman or Bennett. The trip up the Yukon was no picnic. It was a long,
hard trek with many rapids that had to be traversed.
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