White Pass

The White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad (WP&YR) was build in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush.  It took 26 months and $10 million to build.  The 110 mile railroad connects Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon.  "The WP&YR climbs almost 3000 feet in just 20 miles and features steep grades of up to 3.9%, cliff-hanging turns of 16 degrees, two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles. The steel cantilever bridge was the tallest of its kind in the world when it was constructed in 1901."  After the mining industry collapsed in 1982, the railroad closed.  It opened later as a tourist attraction.  For more information of the White Pass and Yukon Rout Railroad visit http://www.wpyr.com/.

On our second day in Skagway, we boarded the train on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad.  The train was traveling to Carcross, Yukon.  The train had many different passenger cars, so each tour group got their own car.  The inside of our car had wooden benches and over head racks to hold bags.  The benches were not conformable.  My family and I sat in the back of the train by the tour guide.  We watched out the window as we passed many mountains coved with trees and waterfalls.  I got tired of sitting, so I went to the outside platform to get a better view of the landscape.  The train was traveling around 40 mph, so wind was cold as it touched my skin.  I stood out in the cold for an hour or more taking pictures of many waterfalls and mountains.  After I went inside, our tour guide, Adam, taught my brother and me how to play a card game.  The game helped passed the time till we stopped for lunch at Lake Bennett.   On our way to the lake, we saw the ghost bridge.  It is called ghost bridge because it appears out of no where and is surrounded by fog.  The end of the bridge can not be seen.  After we saw the bridge, we took a sharp curve.  During the curve, we could see the front of the train was headed into a tunnel.  Soon we reached Lake Bennett, and stopped for lunch.

At Lake Bennett we got off the train and entered a small building.  The lunch we were served was beef stew.  The stew had peas in it, and I am allergic to peas.  My dad told me to try a bit of the broth to see if I would have a reaction.  After I ate a bit of the stew, my voice got horse and a lump in my throat began to form; it got harder to breath.  We talked to the cook and he made a peanut butter sandwich, but I could not finish it because it was getting harder to swallow.  We were in the middle of nowhere, miles away from a hospital, and I thought I was going to die.  My mom made me walked around to get my adrenaline pumping, hoping that it would open my throat.  As we walked around, we saw an old wooden church.  We also walked down to the lake.  It took about half an hour, but finally the lump in my throat disappeared and I could breathe better.  We got back on the train and traveled to Carcross.

 The old wooden church

 Lake Bennett

 The front of our train