On Day 4 of our trip I woke up early again and walked outside. This morning was gorgeous. Bright skies, blue skies, and snow capped mountains. It was stunning. I thought the scenery around Juneau was cool, but this, this was indescribable. Last year on our trip out west, I frequently found myself unable to say what I was seeing. It happened again. As we made our way to Skagway I stood there like a yokel. All I could say was wow. We docked a minute or two early and again were off early. Today, we were to meet with our guide at 7:50. We were all on time. I thought it might be fun for all of us to do an activity together so I booked for us to do a hike and float with Skagway Float Tours. Our guide’s name was Brian and he spends summers in Skagway and spends winters wherever the snow is best. Tough life, though he does live with his girlfriend in van. I can only assume that this van is in fact down by a river. He drove us through town and a few miles to the trailhead for the Chilkoot Trail. Turns out that this part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Park. It actually has 3 separate locations Pioneer Square in Seattle and two here in Skagway. The Chilkoot trail is the actual trail the prospectors took in the late 1890s as they sought their fortunes in the Klondike of Canada. At about 2 minutes in, Brian offered a more flat route for anyone having trouble. My mom and one other lady went that way. The five of us plus that lady’s husband continued on. The trail was steep and in parts challenging. I can’t imagine trying to do this with provisions for prospecting on my back. Brian gave us lots of great information, fed the girls fresh berries off the plant, and generally was a pleasure to be around. I think he found us to be fun too. The girls were engaged the whole time and the 2 miles passed quickly. At the end of the hike we met back up with the other two and spent the next few minutes floating down the river back to our van. If you are in Skagway, I’d recommend this company. All of the staff we met were awesome and they are family owned. Money very well spent. Thanks to Brian for a wonderful morning. He dropped us off at the start of town at the Skagway Brewing Co where we had lunch. After our hike, we were all hungry and I felt good about my odds here. I had a few Omissions and the boss had their beer sampler and then decided on a pint of their Spruce Tip Ale (made with real spruce tips to prevent scurvy). The net hour or so was spent looking around town and spending some money. After that, we hiked out to Yakutania Point where we were rewarded with breezy but stunning views. All of us agreed that Skagway was a runaway hit. After dinner, we played music trivia and then watched Skagway grow smaller and smaller behind us.

PS-It might sound like I didn’t have much to say about Skagway.  Truth is, I couldn’t adequately put it into words.  This proved to be our favorite day of the trip.  Summers in Skagway and winters in Hanalei would be just right.  Ive been many places in my life, but nowhere like this one.  If you ever get the chance to go, you absolutely have to go.