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Dyea, now a ghost town was once the last supply outpost when Klondike fever struck stampeders heading out over Chilkoot Pass on the Alaska-British Columbia border bound for Yukon's gold fields.

	Tens of thousands climbed the "Golden Stairs" at Chilkoot Pass. The year's worth of supplies required by the Canadian government for those heading for the gold rush could mean 40 trips to the summit. (Yukon Archives/3626)

This is where treacherous adventure began for more than 30,000 gold-seekers starting in the summer of 1897. And this is where the trek begins today for modern-day hikers. Of the almost 900 kilometres that needed to be travelled to get to the Klondike, the 53 kilometres from Dyea to Lindeman and Bennett lakes were the only ones crossed by foot — the remaining lengthy stretch was travelled by small boats down the Yukon River. But the trail and especially the images of the human chain of men lined up the now famous Chilkoot Pass have become lasting symbols of the gold rush.

The Chilkoot Trail is now an "international" historical park and is often referred to as the world's longest museum. Hundreds of artifacts can be seen along the trail — relics of the bygone days of the gold rush. An old boiler and large cast-iron stove are rusting away at what used to be Canyon City. Wagon wheels, coffee pots, old shoes and canvas boats line the trail and remind us of the harsh conditions under which the stampeders were travelling — quite a contrast with today's light hiking shoes, GoreTex jackets, compact stoves and down sleeping bags that make the trip a little more manageable. The trail is a four- to five-day trip for modern hikers, but the stampeders actually had to travel back and forth on the trail for over a month to move all their gear from Dyea to the lakes.

I highly recommend the trail. I'm an experienced hiker, and it is one of the most emotionally charged trails I've done — for both its beauty and its history. Keep an eye on the evening sky for incredible northern lights, a bonus on this northern latitude adventure.

Jean-François Bellemare, Website programmer

• Chilkoot Pass: A hiker's historical guide to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park by Archie Satterfield.
• The Klonkide Fever: The life and death of the last great gold rush by Pierre Berton
• "Forgotten claims: One hundred years after the rush, the First Nations people of the Yukon are still attempting to stake a claim," Canadian Geographic, Nov/Dec 1996

• US. National Park Service: http://www.nps.gov/klgo/