This usually required making several trips up and down a frozen slope which included 1,500 steps carved of snow and ice known as the “golden staircase.”Īlthough the discovery of Yukon gold made a few lucky miners rich beyond their wildest dreams, many people made their fortunes off the backs of the miners chasing those dreams. Although pack animals were used to haul supplies for much of the stampeders’ journey, once they reached Chilkoot Trail they had to abandon the animals and carry their supplies the rest of the way. The Chilkoot Trail was steep, icy and snowy. Many animals became stuck and died, earning the trail the nickname, “The Dead Horse Trail.” It’s estimated 3,000 horses died on White Pass. The White Pass was not as steep or rugged as the Chilkoot, but it was new, narrow and clogged and slippery with mud.
The next leg of the trip was the most difficult no matter which trail a stampeder chose.
For the first leg of the journey, well-stocked stampeders traveled to port cities in the Pacific Northwest and boarded boats headed north to the Alaskan town of Skagway which took them to the White Pass Trail, or Dyea which took them to the Chilkoot Trail. Getting to Yukon Territory was no easy task, especially while hauling a literal ton of supplies.
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