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87-583: The Chilkoot Trail is a 33-mile (53 km) trail through the Coast Mountains that leads from Dyea, Alaska , in the United States , to Bennett, British Columbia , in Canada . It was a major access route from the coast to Yukon goldfields in the late 1890s. The trail became obsolete in 1899 when a railway was built from Dyea's neighbor port Skagway along the parallel White Pass trail. The U.S. portion of

174-441: A haulage rope ), and one or two passenger or cargo cabins. The fixed cables provide support for the cabins while the haulage rope, by means of a grip, is solidly connected to the truck (the wheel set that rolls on the track cables). An electric motor drives the haulage rope which provides propulsion . Aerial tramways are constructed as reversible systems ; vehicles shuttling back and forth between two end terminals and propelled by

261-524: A "huddle of tents surrounding a hard core of blacksmith shop, saloon, and a restaurant." The second-largest campground on the American side of the trail. It is located next to small tributary of the Taiya River. Canyon City includes a log cabin with a wood stove and several bunks (although sleeping is not permitted inside park shelters), several shelves for cooking, and a small porch for drying gear. This cabin

348-461: A cable loop which stops and reverses direction when the cabins arrive at the end stations. Aerial tramways differ from gondola lifts in that gondola lifts are considered continuous systems (cabins attached onto a circulating haul rope that moves continuously). Two-car tramways use a jig-back system: a large electric motor is located at the bottom of the tramway so that it effectively pulls one cabin down, using that cabin's weight to help pull

435-550: A canvas warming and cooking shelter with mosquito screens, bear-proof food storage locker, an outhouse , and ample tent sites. Finnegan's Point often takes in very few hikers because of its proximity to the trailhead, and most parties pass Finnegan's Point within a few hours. However, for slower parties and those with a late start on the trail, Finnegan's Point is often the campground of choice. The campground receives its name from Pat Finnegan, who enterprised to collect bridge-crossing tolls from stampeders. Finnegan's Point consisted of

522-502: A continuously circulating cable whereas aerial trams simply shuttle back and forth on cables. In Japan, the two are considered as the same category of vehicle and called ropeway , while the term cable car refers to both grounded cable cars and funiculars . An aerial railway where the vehicles are suspended from a fixed track (as opposed to a cable) is known as a suspension railway . An aerial tramway consists of one or two fixed cables (called track cables ), one loop of cable (called

609-676: A large mass of igneous rock , creating a new continental margin. This large mass of igneous rock is the largest granite outcropping in North America. The final event began when the Farallon Plate continued to subduct under the new continental margin after the Insular Plate and Insular Islands collided with the old continental margin, supporting a new continental volcanic arc called the Coast Range Arc about 100 million years ago during

696-465: A modest number of campsites are all available at this campsite. Happy Camp owes its name to the relief prospectors (and hikers) experienced from arriving at the first outpost after the pass. The camp is situated in a true alpine ecosystem and receives heavy use because of its location. Deep Lake is one of only two campgrounds on the trail without permanent or semi-permanent shelter. Deep Lake includes an outside cooking area, bear proof lockers for food, and

783-425: A number of natural and historical sites as shown on the map. By following the numbers on the map from south to north, the hiker will go along the same route as the old prospectors. The trip normally takes three to five days and to stay for the night, a number of designated campgrounds are made. The trail is roughly divided into three climatic zones: coastal rainforest, high alpine (above tree limit) and boreal forest. In

870-461: A per-pound rate from campsite to campsite. Aerial tramway companies soon were hauling tons of gear over the head of the prospectors every day. By the end of the Chilkoot Trail's heyday, there were five distinct tramway operations on different parts of the trail competing for the influx of gear and money in the region. Many of the trams constituted world-class engineering feats of the era. After

957-525: A pre-existing continental margin and coastline of North America. These volcanic islands, known as the Insular Islands by geoscientists, were formed on a pre-existing tectonic plate called the Insular Plate by subduction of the former Farallon Plate to the west during the early Paleozoic era. This subduction zone records another subduction zone to the east under an ancient ocean basin between

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1044-484: A small number of campsites. It is notable, however, for its scenic location, between the indigo hues of Long and Deep Lakes. The largest campground on the Canadian side. It includes separate north and south campsites, a small cluster of buildings for the trail warden and trail crew, a dock and Parks Canada powerboat, a canvas shelter containing a museum of photographs and small library on the outdoors and Klondike history, and

1131-513: A small ridge above Lake Lindeman in a pine forest and overlooking the Bare Loon Lake, the campground is one of the most beautiful on the trail. It includes two outhouses, a helicopter pad, and food lockers. This camp is the end of the trail. Several structures maintained by the White Pass and Yukon Route are clustered around the tracks, as well as a private First Nations residence. The campground

1218-471: A spillover campsite if Sheep Camp is full. There is a sign near the cooking shelter notifying backpackers whether Sheep Camp is at capacity or can still take backpackers. This is the largest of the American campsites. It is located adjacent to a braided Taiya River . Occasionally avalanches, rockslides, or exceptional rains, will flood Sheep Camp. Sheep Camp consists of two canvas shelters, 3 outhouses, and over 20 campsites. A large post-and-beam picnic pavilion

1305-438: A web of trails leading among the remains of the old town. The north and south campsites each include a large wooden cabin that serves as a cooking and warming shelter, numerous bear poles, and several picnic tables. The campsite is located on the site of what was Lindeman City during the gold rush: a cemetery of deceased prospectors from the gold rush era remains, as well as numerous foundations, former fire rings, old latrine holes,

1392-417: Is Pleasant Camp. There is an informational trail sign at the original site of Pleasant Camp, a quarter mile before the present Pleasant Camp campground. Pleasant Camp marks the reunion of the trail with Taiya River and serves as a lightly used, small campground. From Pleasant Camp the trail is fairly flat and weaves through forest and over small creeks. The trail next comes to Sheep Camp, the last campground on

1479-405: Is a partial translation of the trail's Tlingit name, namely Chilkoot Dei•yi , which means Chilkoot- owned Trail . The trail's English name omits the reference to ownership. In addition, the second word of Chilkoot Dei•yi sounds like the name for the village of Dyea . Prior publications state that Dyea was derived from "to pack" [ yaa ] or "carrying place" [ yaa yé ]. However, the presence of

1566-399: Is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip of an aerial tramway cabin is fixed onto the propulsion rope and cannot be decoupled from it during operations. In comparison to gondola lifts , aerial tramways generally provide lower line capacities and longer wait times. Cable car

1653-455: Is a warming cabin and part-time Parks Canada warden station. Occasionally, if a party is making poor time, the warden or U.S. ranger will offer the warming cabin as an overnight shelter so to not risk the group from being caught in the barren and exposed alpine landscape between the pass and Happy Camp. There are also many artifacts scattered about the Golden Stairs and ridge lines surrounding

1740-445: Is on-site) varies, but usually begins in late May and ends in early September. Peak demand runs from June through August. Avalanche danger lingers into late May, as well as large snow fields that slow progress, whereas September is associated with rain and colder weather. The Chilkoot is also a challenging ultra-run. The fastest known time belongs to ultramarathoner Geoff Roes in 5 hours and 27 minutes. The Chilkoot trail features

1827-426: Is relatively small and includes bear poles, picnic tables, and an outhouse. Bears are the primary safety concern in the park. It is very common for hikers to encounter them. Firearms are not permitted on the Canadian side of Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park. Almost all parties take bear spray and/or bear bangers as repellents, but most importantly both sides of the park mandate smart bear practices. It

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1914-691: Is required to stow food in bear-safe locations. Weather and terrain also pose a challenge to hikers. There are few risks in the forest regions of the trail, however once the trail climbs into the alpine, weather and the elements pose more of a concern; the same does vertigo. Often the American ranger from Sheep Camp sweeps late in the day up to Chilkoot Pass to monitor for straggling groups that may not make Happy Camp and would be in need of emergency shelter. Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains are approximately 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) long and average 300 kilometres (190 mi) in width. The range's southern and southeastern boundaries are surrounded by

2001-509: Is the usual term in British English, where tramway generally refers to a railed street tramway . In American English, cable car may additionally refer to a cable-pulled street tramway with detachable vehicles (e.g., San Francisco's cable cars ). As such, careful phrasing is necessary to prevent confusion. It is also sometimes called a ropeway or even incorrectly referred to as a gondola lift . A gondola lift has cabins suspended from

2088-724: The British Columbia Interior from the Pacific weather systems, resulting in dry warm summers and dry cold winters. Beyond the eastern slopes is a 154,635 km (59,705 sq mi) plateau occupying the southern and central portions of British Columbia called the Interior Plateau . Included within the Interior Plateau is a coalescing series of layered flood basalt lava flows. These sequences of fluid volcanic rock cover about 25,000 km (9,700 sq mi) of

2175-721: The Fraser River and the Interior Plateau while its far northwestern edge is delimited by the Kelsall and Tatshenshini Rivers at the north end of the Alaska Panhandle, beyond which are the Saint Elias Mountains, and by Champagne Pass in the Yukon Territory . Covered in dense temperate rainforest on its western exposures, the range rises to heavily glaciated peaks, including the largest temperate-latitude ice fields in

2262-668: The Inside Passage to Skagway. As it became apparent that many of the prospectors who chose the Chilkoot simply were not going to survive the arduous terrain and harsh weather, Canada's North-West Mounted Police (now the Royal Canadian Mounted Police ) declared that prospectors could only enter Canada if they had at least one ton of gear, enough to supply a prospector for one year (the Klondike supply list ). Prospectors ferried

2349-655: The Late Cretaceous period. Magma rising from the Farallon Plate under the new continental margin ascended through the newly accreted Insular Belt, injecting huge quantities of granite into older igneous rocks of the Insular Belt. At the surface, new volcanoes were built along the continental margin. Named after the Coast Mountains, the basement of this arc was likely Early Cretaceous and Late Jurassic intrusions from

2436-624: The San Juan Mountains of the US state of Colorado . Another famous use of aerial tramways was at the Kennecott Copper mine in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park , Alaska . Other firms entered the mining tramway business—Otto, Leschen, Breco Ropeways Ltd., Ceretti and Tanfani, and Riblet for instance. A major British contributor was Bullivant who became a constituent of British Ropes in 1924. In

2523-699: The Stikine Icecap , which lies between the lower Stikine River and the Whiting River . Because the Coast Mountains are just east of the Pacific Ocean , they have a profound effect on British Columbia's climate by forcing moisture-laden air off the Pacific Ocean to rise, dropping heavy rainfalls on the western slopes where lush forests exist. This precipitation is among the heaviest in North America. The eastern slopes are relatively dry and less steep and protect

2610-643: The 16.5 mi (26.6 km) portion of the trail in Alaska was designated Chilkoot National Historic Trail , part of the National Trails System . Tlingit Indigenous people used the trail as a vital trade route to trade for resources available in the interior. As pressures from American settlers and the Hudson's Bay Company weakened the traditional Tlingit trading system, the Chilkoot Trail slowly became utilized by explorers and prospectors. The name Chilkoot Trail

2697-416: The American side of the trail as well as the final resting stop before the trek up Chilkoot Pass. It is the largest of the campsites on the American side of the trail. After leaving Sheep Camp and before the U.S. ranger station, the trail passes through a large avalanche chute. The slide has wiped out all previously existing forest and leaves a young brushy and alder-dominated landscape. A short distance after

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2784-681: The Bridge River Ocean, the Insular Islands drew closer to the former continental margin and coastline of western North America, supporting a pre-existing volcanic arc on the former continental margin of North America called the Omineca Arc . As the North American Plate drifted west and the Insular Plate drifted east to the old continental margin of western North America, the Bridge River Ocean eventually closed by ongoing subduction under

2871-532: The Bridge River Ocean. This subduction zone eventually jammed and shut down completely 115 million years ago, ending the Omineca Arc and the Insular Islands collided, forming the Insular Belt . Compression resulting from this collision crushed, fractured and folded rocks along the old continental margin. The Insular Belt then welded onto the pre-existing continental margin by magma that eventually cooled to create

2958-517: The Canadian national park associated with the Klondike. Klondike Gold Rush NHP and Chilkoot Trail NHS together form Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park, a designation introduced at the time of the centennial of the gold rush in 1998. The Chilkoot Trail is a popular recreational trail among residents of Southeast Alaska and Yukon Territory . The trail also attracts many tourists from abroad. To manage demand, and to prevent overuse and maintain

3045-565: The Canyon City campsite are the Canyon City ruins. Canyon City was a tent city during the gold rush and its ruins—building foundations, a large restaurant stove, a large boiler—are still visible. The ruins are accessible by crossing the Taiya River by suspension footbridge . After Canyon City ruins, the trail diverges away from the river for the first time as the river disappears into a small canyon (Canyon City's namesake) and climbs up valley wall, traversing sub-alpine forest. For many sections of

3132-591: The Chilkoot Trail and Dyea Site were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978, following creation of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in 1976. In 1987, the B.C. portion of the trail was designated Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site . In 1998, the centennial of the gold rush , the National Historic Site in British Columbia joined with the U.S. National Historical Park to form Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park . In 2022,

3219-453: The Chilkoot Trail was the most direct, least expensive, and, soon enough, most popular. The other primary route to the headwaters of the Yukon River, however, was also based out of Skagway : the rival White Pass route. The White Pass route was slightly longer but less rigorous and steep, whereas the Chilkoot was shorter and more difficult. Skagway, because of its deepwater harbor, served as

3306-573: The Coast Mountains and the highest that lies entirely within British Columbia, located northeast of the head of Knight Inlet with an elevation of 4,019 metres (13,186 ft). The Coast Mountains consists of three subdivisions known as the Pacific Ranges , the Kitimat Ranges , and the Boundary Ranges . The Pacific Ranges are the southernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains, extending from

3393-506: The Coast Range Arc were then deformed under the heat and pressure of later intrusions, turning them into layered metamorphic rock known as gneiss . In some places, mixtures of older intrusive rocks and the original oceanic rocks have been distorted and warped under intense heat, weight and stress to create unusual swirled patterns known as migmatite , appearing to have been nearly melted in the procedure. Volcanism began to decline along

3480-559: The Insular Islands and the former continental margin of North America called the Bridge River Ocean . This arrangement of two parallel subduction zones is unusual in that very few twin subduction zones exist on Earth; the Philippine Mobile Belt off the southeastern coast of Asia is an example of a modern twin subduction zone. As the Insular Plate drew closer to the pre-existing continental margin by ongoing subduction under

3567-625: The Insular Islands. One of the major aspects that changed early during the Coast Range Arc was the status of the northern end of the Farallon Plate, a portion now known as the Kula Plate . About 85 million years ago, the Kula Plate broke off from the Farallon Plate to form a mid-ocean ridge known to geoscientists as the Kula-Farallon Ridge . This change apparently had some important ramifications for regional geologic evolution. When this change

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3654-604: The Interior Plateau and have a volume of about 1,800 km (430 cu mi), forming a large volcanic plateau constructed atop of the Interior Plateau. North of the Interior Plateau on the range's northeastern slopes lies a huge mountainous area known by geographers as the Interior Mountains , which includes the neighbouring Skeena , Cassiar and Hazelton Mountains . The Coast Mountains consist of deformed igneous and metamorphosed structurally complex pre- Tertiary rocks. These originated in diverse locations around

3741-561: The Klondike Gold Rush, the trail became more or less deserted. Prospectors late to the gold rush now made their way to the Yukon on the new White Pass and Yukon Route narrow-gauge railroad , which took them all the way to Whitehorse, Yukon in the Yukon Territory . In 1969, the U.S. and Canadian governments jointly declared their intention to make Chilkoot Trail a component of a Klondike Gold Rush International Historic Park. The U.S. portion

3828-547: The Lake Lindeman campground, the headquarters of Canadian trail operations. The trail climbs a steep bluff after Lindeman and offers an expansive view of the lake and surrounding forest. After Lake Lindeman, the trail passes Bare Loon Lake and the Bare Loon Lake campground. The trail diverges after Bare Loon Lake. One branch continues to Lake Bennett and the tracks of the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad. The other branch,

3915-535: The Log Cabin cut-off, connects with the Klondike Highway , but was closed by Parks Canada in 2010. Bennett consists of a campground, a White Pass and Yukon Route depot, several houses (all private property) belonging to White Pass employees or First Nations citizens, and the only gold rush-era building still standing along the trail today, the renovated St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Pilings from bygone piers dot

4002-854: The Nass River in the south to the Kelsall River in the north. It is also the largest subdivision of the Coast Mountains, spanning the British Columbia-Alaska border and northwards into Yukon flanking the west side of the Yukon River drainage as far as Champagne Pass , north of which being the Yukon Ranges . The Boundary Ranges include several large icefields, including the Juneau Icefield between Juneau, Alaska and Atlin Lake in British Columbia, and

4089-551: The base of the "Golden Stairs" (the long difficult incline that leads to the pass), are The Scales. The Scales were a weight station where freight would be reweighed before the final trek to the pass. Often, Native packers would demand higher packing rates. The Scales also hosted a small tent city, including six restaurants, two hotels, a saloon, and many freighting offices and warehouses. The imposing Golden Stairs also prompted many would-be prospectors to turn around, often leaving behind their required ton of equipment. Because of this, and

4176-479: The beginning of the 20th century, the rise of the middle class and the leisure industry allowed for investment in sight-seeing machines. Prior to 1893, a combined goods and passenger carrying cableway was installed at Gibraltar . Initially, its passengers were military personnel. An 1893 industry publication said of a two-mile system in Hong Kong that it "is the only wire tramway which has been erected exclusively for

4263-560: The buildings had been demolished or removed. The trail begins in Dyea, a ghost town and campground, 15 minutes from Skagway. From the trailhead, the route winds through coastal rainforest along to the Taiya River . The first campsite is Finnegan's Point. This stretch of the trail is in flat terrain with no substantial obstacles. The trail becomes noticeably cooler after Finnegan's Point owing to cool air sinking down from snow and ice fields in

4350-619: The cable car business: Bleichert , Heckel, Pohlig, PHB (Pohlig-Heckel-Bleichert), Garaventa and Waagner-Biró. Now there are three groups dominating the world market: Doppelmayr Garaventa Group , Leitner Group, and Poma , the last two being owned by one person. Some aerial tramways have their own propulsion , such as the Lasso Mule or the Josef Mountain Aerial Tramway near Merano , Italy . While typically used for ski resorts, aerial tramways have been ported over for usage in

4437-507: The cable run. The first design of an aerial lift was by Croatian polymath Fausto Veranzio and the first operational aerial tram was built in 1644 by Adam Wybe in Gdańsk , Poland. It was moved by horses and used to move soil over the river to build defences. It is called the first known cable lift in European history and precedes the invention of steel cables. It is not known how long this lift

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4524-413: The camps, a U.S. Ranger Station is located north of Sheep Camp to present the history of the pass and inform about weather and trail conditions before crossing the summit. This campground is located adjacent to the Taiya River while the valley is still relatively flat. The mosquitoes are very bad at Finnegan's Point partly due to its location and the abundance of standing water. The campsite itself includes

4611-536: The carriage of individuals" (albeit workmen). After the pioneer cable car suitable for public transport on Mount Ulia in 1907 ( San Sebastián , Spain ) by Leonardo Torres Quevedo and the Wetterhorn Elevator ( Grindelwald , Switzerland) in 1908, others to the top of high peaks in the Alps of Austria, Germany and Switzerland resulted. They were much less expensive to build than the earlier rack railway . One of

4698-420: The early Eocene period. Volcanism along the entire length of the Coast Range Arc shut down about 50 million years ago and many of the volcanoes have disappeared from erosion. What remains of the Coast Range Arc to this day are outcrops of granite when magma intruded and cooled at depth beneath the volcanoes, forming the present Coast Mountains. During construction of intrusions 70 and 57 million years ago,

4785-576: The end it is connected to White Pass historical railway leading back to Skagway the modern port of the trail. In the following, the points of the map are highlighted with bold letters. Dyea is a ghost town located at the convergence of the Taiya River and Taiya Inlet on the south side of the Chilkoot Pass within the limits of the Municipality of Skagway Borough, Alaska . Confidence man and crime boss Soapy Smith , famous for his underworld control of

4872-588: The first trams was at Chamonix , while others in Switzerland, and Garmisch soon followed. From this, it was a natural transposition to build ski lifts and chairlifts. The first cable car in North America was at Cannon Mountain in Franconia, New Hampshire in 1938. Many aerial tramways were built by Von Roll Ltd. of Switzerland, which has since been acquired by Austrian lift manufacturer Doppelmayr . Other German, Swiss, and Austrian firms played an important role in

4959-400: The gear from campsites along the trail, slowly moving closer to the headwaters of the Yukon. With all the equipment and supplies being transported, alternative methods, especially those with a little supplemental income, sprouted up. Many prospectors purchased pack animals (although that method was more commonly used on the rival White Pass ), and many others paid Tlingit Indians to haul gear on

5046-531: The globe: the area is built of several different terranes of different ages with a broad range of tectonic origins. In addition, oceanic crust under the Pacific Ocean is being subducted at the southern portion of the range to form a north–south line of volcanoes called the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt , a northern extension of the Cascade Volcanoes in the northwestern United States , and contains

5133-700: The highest mountain of the Coast Mountains, lies in the Waddington Range of the Pacific Ranges. Just north of the Pacific Ranges lies the central subdivision known as the Kitimat Ranges. This subdivision extends from the Bella Coola River and Burke Channel in the south to the Nass River in the north. The third and northernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains is the Boundary Ranges , extending from

5220-505: The initial \d\ sound in Dyea casts doubt on those latter possibilities, and suggests that the first syllable had been dei (as in dei-yi ). The Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899) transformed the Chilkoot Trail into a mainstream transportation route to Canada's interior. The gold rush was primarily focused in the region around Dawson City in Yukon and the Yukon River . Of the several overland routes,

5307-554: The lakeshore and an assortment of cans and other metal artifacts are scattered throughout the woods. As shown on the route map there are nine designated, maintained campgrounds on the Chilkoot Trail. Camping is allowed in these places only. Hikers must use their own tents or shelters as the cabins at the campgrounds are for warming and cooking only. For cooking a backpacking stove must be brought along, even though wood stoves are available in some places. Open fires are prohibited. Use of campgrounds must be planned in advance. In addition to

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5394-409: The length of the arc about 60 million years ago during the Albian and Aptian faunal stages of the Cretaceous period. This resulted from the changing geometry of the Kula Plate, which progressively developed a more northerly movement along the Pacific Northwest . Instead of subducting beneath the Pacific Northwest, the Kula Plate began subducting underneath southwestern Yukon and Alaska and during

5481-417: The lower stretches of the Fraser River to Bella Coola . Included in this subdivision is four of the five major coastal icecaps in the southern Coast Mountains. These are the largest temperate-latitude icecaps in the world and fuel a number of major rivers . Other than logging and a large ski resort at the resort town of Whistler , most of the land in the range is completely undeveloped. Mount Waddington ,

5568-411: The more lush temperate rain forest on the U.S. half before Chilkoot Pass. After the trail passes Deep Lake, the outlet river runs parallel to the trail for a short distance before entering a small canyon. Many boat and boat-related artifacts are visible in this area. The trail continues at a gentle decline until the turquoise-colored Lake Lindeman comes into view and the trail concludes its descent to

5655-427: The most explosive young volcanoes in Canada. Further north the northwesterly structural trend of the Coast Mountains lies partly in a large continental rift responsible for the creation of several volcanoes. These volcanoes form part of the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province , the most volcanically active area in Canada. The first event began 130 million years ago when a group of active volcanic islands approached

5742-424: The neighboring town of Skagway in 1897-98 is believed to have had control of Dyea as well. The port at Dyea had shallow water, while neighboring Skagway had deep water. For a brief period between 1897 and 1899, this trail and town were full of prospectors. Dyea was abandoned when the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad chose the White Pass Trail, which begins in Skagway, over the Chilkoot Trail. By 1905, most of

5829-417: The northern motion of the Kula Plate might have been between 140 mm (6 in) and 110 mm (4 in) per year. However, other geologic studies determined the Kula Plate moved at a rate as fast as 200 mm (8 in) per year. Download coordinates as: Aerial tramway An aerial tramway , aerial tram , sky tram , aerial cablecar , aerial cableway , telepherique , or seilbahn

5916-444: The other cabin up. A similar system of cables is used in a funicular railway. The two passenger or cargo cabins, which carry from 4 to over 150 people, are situated at opposite ends of the loops of cable. Thus, while one is coming up, the other is going down the mountain, and they pass each other midway on the cable span . Some aerial trams have only one cabin , which lends itself better for systems with small elevation changes along

6003-409: The pass, including a cache of intact (canvas, wood, etc.) prefabricated boats on the southeastern side of the pass. Stone Crib is situated a half mile after the pass. Stone Crib served as the terminus of the Chilkoot Railroad and Transport Company's aerial tramway, a huge rocky counterbalance for the tram. This function is still apparent today with the wooden structure collapsed along the west side of

6090-421: The principal port for both routes (nearby Dyea, the beginning of the Chilkoot Trail, was built on the extensive, shallow Taiya River delta). Prospectors who chose the Chilkoot were ferried to Dyea by small boat or ferry. Soon, both Skagway and Dyea were bustling tent cities as sensationalist headlines of the gold rush spurred men from across the United States to leave their jobs and families and gain passage up

6177-404: The ranger station is a small museum of gold rush-era artifacts in an old cabin. Soon after leaving the cabin the sub-alpine forest slowly yields to a treeless alpine landscape that allows a grand view of the rapidly narrowing Taiya River valley. As the trail climbs in altitude, its path becomes more improved, often demarcated by yellow markers planted in snowfields. Within sight of the pass, and at

6264-531: The remote character of the trail, the National Park Service and Parks Canada allow no more than 50 backpackers to begin the trail each day by way of a permit system. In return for these fees, both countries have full-time trail maintenance crews, ranger/warden stations, well-designed campgrounds, and have placed numerous interpretive signs adjacent to notable historical sites and objects. The official hiking season (when rangers are on-duty and trail crew

6351-426: The ruts of Lindeman City's main street, and a plethora of artifacts ranging from broken wine and beer bottles to tin cans. Lake Lindeman hosts a small tent museum containing photographic displays and a small library of books on the Chilkoot, the outdoors, and other Canadian parks . Bare Loon Lake is the second campground without semi-permanent shelter, though it now includes a pavilion-style cooking shelter. Located on

6438-523: The snow's preserving properties, artifacts are prevalent at this altitude, including many remnants of wooden structures. After The Scales is the final push up to the Chilkoot Pass: the fabled Golden Stairs. The Golden Stairs acquired its name from the steps that prospectors painstakingly carved into the snow and ice of the pass and has retained the name ever since. At the pass proper, at the Canada–US border,

6525-464: The summit push into Canada. During the official hiking season the park ranger stationed just south of Sheep Camp gives a quick presentation outlining the route over the pass, the weather forecast, and snow conditions every evening in the pavilion. Rangers recommend 7.5 to 10 hours for a group to travel from Sheep Camp to Happy Camp. Happy Camp is the only campground on the Chilkoot Trail in the alpine . A very small wooden warming cabin, an outhouse, and

6612-399: The surrounding mountains. Numerous streams also cascade down the mountain sides. This stretch of the trail contains the least amount of visible artifacts. The next camp is Canyon City. Many hikers, especially those desiring a more modest pace or those who have had a late start, stop at Canyon City the first night. The shelter located at Canyon City houses many gold rush-era artifacts. Close to

6699-495: The trail, old telegraph and tram wires are exposed adjacent to the trail. For the gold rush prospectors, this section of the trail was one of the most difficult. In winter, when the Taiya River was frozen, the gold rush stampeders could easily travel up the ice highway; however, in the summer this segment was described as "the worst piece of trail on the road, fairly muddy with many boulders and with some short, steep ascents and descents in and out of small gulches." The next landmark

6786-690: The urban environment in recent times. The Roosevelt Island Tramway in New York City, the Rakavlit cable car in Haifa, Israel and the Portland Aerial Tram are examples where this technology has been successfully adapted for public transport purposes. The telpherage concept was first publicised in 1883 and several experimental lines were constructed. It was designed to compete not with railways, but with horses and carts. The first commercial telpherage line

6873-468: The valley. The trail wends its way by a series of alpine lakes: First Crater Lake, Morrow Lake, and finally Happy Camp. The trail continues to pass another couple of lakes—Long Lake and Deep Lake—before crossing tree line . Adjacent to Deep Lake, and amidst tree line, is another campground. The Canadian half of the Chilkoot Trail, in the rain shadow of the Coast Mountains, is much dryer, and pine forest, first appearing at Deep Lake, readily contrasts to

6960-513: The world. On its eastern flanks, the range tapers to the dry Interior Plateau and the subarctic boreal forests of the Skeena Mountains and Stikine Plateau . The Coast Mountains are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire —the ring of volcanoes and associated mountains around the Pacific Ocean —and contain some of British Columbia's highest mountains. Mount Waddington is the highest mountain of

7047-431: The zone of Cretaceous dextral thrust faulting appears to have been widespread. It was also during this period when massive amounts of molten granite intruded highly deformed ocean rocks and assorted fragments from pre-existing island arcs, largely remnants of the Bridge River Ocean. This molten granite burned the old oceanic sediments into a glittering medium-grade metamorphic rock called schist . The older intrusions of

7134-468: Was built by the CCC and juvenile delinquents in the 60s. Canyon City includes 16 campsites and two outhouses as well as food lockers and bear poles. This is the smallest of the campgrounds on the American side of the trail. It is located next to a sandbar in the Taiya River and consists of a canvas warming and cooking shelter, a small number of campsites, a bear pole and food lockers. Pleasant Camp usually serves as

7221-420: Was completed by the trail crew in 2017. The collapsed CCC cabin was rebuilt in 2018 by the trail crew. The only U.S. Ranger Station on the trail is located just a few hundred meters south of Sheep Camp and the ranger during the official season gives a nightly presentation on the history of the pass and current weather and trail conditions. From Sheep Camp many hikers leave early in the morning—as early as 4 a.m.—for

7308-525: Was completed, Coast Range Arc volcanism returned and sections of the arc were uplifted considerably in latest Cretaceous time. This started a period of mountain building that affected much of western North America called the Laramide orogeny . In particular a large area of dextral transpression and southwest-directed thrust faulting was active from 75 to 66 million years ago. Much of the record of this deformation has been overridden by Tertiary age structures and

7395-409: Was eventually established in 1976 as Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park , comprising part of Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle , Washington , various sites throughout Skagway, Alaska, the abandoned town site of Dyea, Alaska, and the U.S. portion of the Chilkoot Trail. The Canadian portion of the trail was christened Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site, one of several sites that comprise

7482-696: Was in Glynde , which is in Sussex, England. It was built to connect a newly opened clay pit to the local railway station and opened in 1885. There are aerial tramways with double deck cabins. The Vanoise Express cable car carries 200 people in each cabin at a height of 380 m (1,247 ft) over the Ponturin gorge in France. The Shinhotaka Ropeway carries 121 people in each cabin at Mount Hotaka in Japan. The CabriO cable car to

7569-470: Was used. In any case, it would be another 230 years before Germany would get the second cable lift, this newer version equipped with iron wire cable. Tramways are sometimes used in mountainous regions to carry ore from a mine located high on the mountain to an ore mill located at a lower elevation. Ore tramways were common in the early 20th century at the mines in North and South America. One can still be seen in

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