Here is the story of Carcross Yukon which I walked through the other day and found it to be a very pleasant surprise. The modern hamlet you see now was originally called Caribou Crossing and is nestled between the Bennett and Nares Lakes. However long before that this was a hunting and fishing camp for the Tagish Carcross and Tlingit people for thousands of years. Artifacts have been found and dated that go back over 4500 years ago but most likely people have been there far longer than that. Today hunting and fishing is still a very important way of life but they have added tourism to the list. A narrow gage rail line takes passengers from the cruise ships that stop in Skagway on day trips to Carcross on the White Pass and Yukon Railway. As I meandered through the community I was mesmerized by the beauty here. I was also impressed with the work the community had done to add beauty to the place. I had expected to only do a brief walk through and take a few pictures but instead found myself staying half a day reading all the historical plaques and setting up scenic shots that inspired me to no end. I was like a giddy little boy running about excited for the next thing to read or see. I imagined as I most often do what life would have been like here back in 1896 when the Chilkoot Trail was the main route. Or the boom when Gold was discovered and the railway was competed in 1900. I can see by the grandeur of the old hotel that this was once a bustling community of wealth seekers. In fact it was a local Tagish man with family that is credited with the Gold Rush of the late 1800s into the early 1900s. His name was Skookum (meaning strong) Jim Mason born 1860 of the Wolf moiety who first found a nugget on the Rabbit Creek (now called Bonanza Creek) in August 1896. This discovery was made while he was headed down the Yukon River to find his sister Kate and her husband George Carmack. He believed his Frog spirit guided him to the Gold and soon he became very rich but remained humble to community until his death in 1916. As I walked through I stopped to wipe the freshly fallen snow off each panel and read them all. Amazing how much you can learn by taking this small bit of time. As I hiked out of the community there was one more surprise to be had. Just north of Carcross headed to Whitehorse there is a desert. Yes a desert. The surrounding mountains hoard all the rain so these sand dunes only receive about 50mm of rain a year. At around 1 square mile or 1.6 square kilometres its the self proclaimed Smallest Desert in the World. Though its a little too humid to technically be a desert its close enough so Ill give an A for effort. Next the Whitehorse story and Ive got to say Ive found this place to be very fascinating indeed. Lest We Forget!
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 20:04:25 +0000
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