When the 110-mile White Pass and Yukon railroad opened in 1900, it carried thousands of people from Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse in Yukon, Canada on their way to seek their fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush.
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Eventually these miners were replaced by cruise ship passengers as the White Pass and Yukon Route became one of the most popular day tours in southeast Alaska.
Passengers now board the historic, narrow-gauge train with cameras, not gold pans, and marvel how it climbs 3,000 feet in just 20 miles with steep grades of almost 4%, cliff-hanging turns of 16 degrees, two tunnels and numerous cantilever bridges and trestles. But these days, a growing number of outdoor adventurers are booking passage after discovering the railroad also provides easy access to a pristine mountainous wilderness.
Here are three great adventures made possible with a ticket on the White Pass and Yukon Route:
Denver Caboose
At Mile 6 of the railroad is this bright red caboose which hikers can reserve through the US Forest Service and spend a night or two. Inside there are five bunks, a table and a stove. Outside are commanding views of the surrounding Sawtooth Mountains and a 4.5-mile trail that leads to Denver Glacier and Upper Elway Falls.
Laughton Glacier
Glacier Station at Mile 14 of the White Pass and Yukon Route is little more than a sweeping curve in the tracks and a trail sign. But through the trees is a trail that leads to another US Forest Service cabin and then into the Laughton Glacier amphitheatre. This is as dramatic a place as any in Alaska, a powerful blend of craggy Sawtooth Range peaks and the fingers of ice that spill out of them to form the glacier at the bottom. Combining the train ride with the 1.5-mile hike to stay at the remote cabin makes this slice of Alaskan wilderness accessible to almost anybody.
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