The day stayed sunny, and we decided that it was way too nice to dawdle. We got to the dining room just as they were closing the doors after breakfast. It closed at 9am again today; we really need to pay attention to the Princess Patter. Instead we went up to the Horizon Court buffet and enjoyed breakfast seated at a table with expansive views in all directions.
We keep hearing time and time again that we're enjoying the very best weather of the summer, and so feel obligated to hike while it lasts. If it turns more typical for the next cruise, as least we can say we took advantage of it while it lasted.
We packed up our backpack and headed out. It was about a quarter mile walk along the waterfront from the ship to town, but there is a boardwalk or a sidewalk the entire way. The Yukon and White Pass Railroad tracks run right up to the ship, and we took some time to video the train leaving.
The Klondike Goldrush National Historic Service headquarters is in the old Y&WP RR depot, so our first stop was to get directions to the Lower Dewey Lake trail and check out what the visitors center had to offer. Once again, we were impressed with the excellent video about the Goldrush history of the area and Skagway's important role in it. I went from knowing virtually nothing about the history of the town to feeling fairly competent in the subject.
Finally, there was no putting it off any longer. We had signed up for a 2pm guided walking tour of the Klondike Goldrush National Historic District (which, while it covers a large territory as far south as Seattle, is most concentrated in the waterfront area of Skagway), and the hike we wanted to do would take 1.5 to three hours.
Photo 1: Skagway as viewed from the Island Princess
Photo 2: in the past, ship crews would paint the rock walls along the pier with commemorative signs
Photo 3: the Island Princess docked in Skagway
Photo 4: along the walk to town