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Hiking with Ghosts:
The Chilkoot Trail, Then and Now
A portrait of the famous gold rush route, now a popular backpacking trail, based on first-hand experience and extensive research into the human and natural history of the area. Published by Raincoast Books, 1999, softcover, 129 pp., index, bibliography, contemporary and archival photos. ISBN 1-55192-276-2. $26.95.
Prologue
The Chilkoot Trail has gone through many incarnations. Originally it was a trade route used by members of the First Nations of Alaska, northern British Columbia and the Yukon, long before those place names ever appeared on maps. Later it was travelled by non-Native prospectors on their way to and from the northern interior. It became internationally renowned during the final three years of the 19th century, when 30,000 to 50,000 fortune-seekers used it to gain access to the headwaters of the Yukon River and, ultimately, to the Klondike goldfields. Then it was abandoned, left to return to nature.
The modern Chilkoot Trail, which began to emerge in the 1960s, is a world-class backpacking route managed jointly by the United States National Park Service and Parks Canada. On August 15, 1998, the Canadian and American governments officially designated the Chilkoot Trail as part of Klondike Gold Rush International Historic Park, along with other gold-rush sites, including Dawson City in the Yukon and Klondike Gold Rush Historical Park in Seattle, Washington.
Awards
Winner of a BC2000 Book Award.
Many people are drawn to the Chilkoot Trail because of its fascinating past, but to infer that it is only of historical interest is to underestimate its other attractions. The Chilkoot corridor is magnificently scenic and biologically diverse. The 53-kilometre route provides a unique opportunity to travel by foot through three distinct ecosystems -- coastal rainforest, alpine tundra and boreal forest. The trail also offers a challenging backcountry experience in the rugged terrain of the Coast Mountains, an adventure often made additionally challenging by severe weather conditions. It is not a trip for the unfit or the ill-prepared.
In 1998, a century after the peak year of the Klondike stampede, nearly 4,000 people hiked the length of the Chilkoot Trail. I was one of them. This book is the outcome of that trip and a previous excursion that I made in 1994, while researching a book about the women of the Klondike gold rush (excerpt). Like the braided Taiya River, which parallels the southern half of the trail, my narrative has many strands. By intertwining history, landscape, flora and fauna with an account of my two journeys, I hope to present a portrait of the trail that will spark memories for others who have hiked it, inspire future Chilkoot trekkers and entertain armchair travellers who have the good sense not to go climbing mountains in the pouring rain.
Reviews
The Martlet Spring Book Supplement: Hiking With Ghosts is a literary travel guide with entertaining accounts of the many treks over the Chilkoot Trail . . . [Backhouse] writes descriptions to tempt any hiker or nature-lover and her obvious enjoyment of her second trip over the Chilkoot, despite some bad weather, shines through."
Victoria Times Colonist: "[A] delightful mix of history, nature, photography and travel, all packaged in a paperback book that will satisfy the eco-tourist or the more sedentary reader."
Focus on Women: "Richly textured, with luscious photographs, this book is a treat to read."
The Chilkoot Trail begins at sea level near the mouth of the Taiya River, 15 kilometres northwest of Skagway, Alaska. It runs straight north for about 13 kilometres, then continues in a northeasterly direction for the rest of its length. The highest point on the trail, the 1,122-metre-high Chilkoot Pass, is almost exactly halfway between the two ends. This summit also represents the boundary between the United States and Canada. The ghost town of Bennett, British Columbia, where the trail ends, lies at about 650 metres above sea level. Modern backpackers have the choice of walking 13 kilometres from Bennett out to the nearest road or returning to civilization by boat or train.
The most famous, and the most dreaded, portion of the Chilkoot Trail has always been the nearly 45-degree ascent that became known during the Klondike era as the Golden Stairs. The lead-up to this section consists of a stiff six-kilometre climb up 530 metres from Sheep Camp to the Scales, the area where commercial packers used to weigh their loads and calculate their fees. The rocky stairway to the summit begins just beyond the Scales and rises nearly 300 metres over a mere 900-metre distance.
People looking at a map of the Chilkoot Trail for the first time are occasionally confused by the fact that its northern terminus is in British Columbia. "Weren't the stampeders on their way to the Yukon?" they ask. Indeed they were, but the Chilkoot Trail was only one leg of a long journey that also included a great deal of water travel. An ocean voyage of about one week's duration brought the gold seekers from West Coast ports like Seattle and Vancouver to the beginning of the trail. Then, when they reached the end of the trail, they embarked on an 800-kilometre expedition down the Yukon River, from its headwaters at Bennett to Dawson, deep in the heart of the northern interior.
Short as the Chilkoot Trail was in relation to the overall distance the Klondike stampeders travelled, it took most of them weeks or months to traverse and it left an indelible imprint on their memories. Even without a ton of goods to transport, I found this trail had a similar impact on me.
Frances Backhouse
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