Back in August, Skagway suffered a few landslides. I mean, it is still part of the Tongass National Forest, a temperate rain forest, and very steep. The land is destined to slide sometimes. It just so happened that these slides happened at the cruise piers, making them unsafe.
Many cruises cut Skagway calls out of their schedules, several of them rerouting to other ports, like Sitka. Ours did not. We tied up to the dock, but to get to land, we "tendered" to shore, meaning that we all got into lifeboats that took us around to the marina next door where we disembarked on their dock.
Before leaving, I had booked an excursion to the Yukon Territory to go dog mushing. While in Juneau, I got an email that it had been cancelled. So, with tears in my eyes (lol), I decided to take the train ride instead. I hopped on my "tender" and headed to the open portion of the Skagway pier. The slide area was obvious, and it is deemed to still be active.
Also, in case anyone was wondering, those lifeboats are roomy! There was nothing on the pier. No souvenier shops. There was one little kiosk selling tours, but the only other thing there was bus/tour stops for picking up/dropping off and the White Pass and Yukon Territories train depot. On the far end, heading toward town, there was a restaurant. That was it.
So, I got in the line to board the train. I scored a nice bench by myself. Bruce had worn himself out between Ketchikan and Juneau. He loves a good train ride, but just wasn't up to three days in a row. This is why we don't tend to do organized tours. We need those rest days. My foot certainly could have used a day off, for sure, but I have this problem with FOMO, and my meds and physical therapy modalities were still holding out and I was still capable of walking, even if it hurt.
My day was made when they announced we could go out on the platform! Of course, that meant that I couldn't hear the historical commentary that was being given, but views unobstructed by windows?! My kinda view! So, once we got past the Skagway city limits, out I went. I propped myself in one corner and didn't move much. I was able to support myself on the platform rail with my side leaning mostly on the outide of the train car, mostly using my sore foot just as a balancing aid. As we climbed, we entered the clouds, and the fog got dense. The fog got so dense at times that the water dripped down, sometimes in drops and sometimes in streams. At one point, my whole arm got soaked. But, my sweater blocked the water from getting on the camera. I did wish I had brought the rain gear with me, but she stood up to it. I also had to go back in to get my gloves, which I believe will work great in Antartica, even though they were cheapies we got from Ollie's in Mississippi. When the ride was over, and I put the camera back in my bag, the condensation made me also think she could have used a lens heater. I don't have one of those because my Antarctica guide said we didn't need one for there. I hope he's right because the camera was useless until that condensation cleared, which it thankfully did. Here are a few pix I was able to snap on the train ride that came out.
See how steep that drop off is? That drop got closer to the track in many places!
The Skagway River is waaaay down there!
The front of the train going over the tressle bridge and into the tunnel
A better look at the tressle bridge and tunnel
Remnants of the old steel cantilever bridge fading off in the fog. This bridge was used until 1969.
Apparently, I put more weight on my right foot than I thought. By the time we got back to Skagway and I had to walk back inside the train, it was throbbing. Therefore, I decided against the 5-minute walk to town or even walking around town after catching a shuttle, and I just went back to the boat. We're at sea for a while, so I can give it some time to rest.
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