Help! Chilkoot Hike 'n Float or Glacier Point Wilderness Safari??

My husband and I are at odds over excursions in Skagway! First, we'd planned to do the White Pass railway, then we (or I) made plans to rent a car and make the drive to Emerald Lake. Mistake-hubby doesn't want to drive on our vacation! Soooo, we're revisiting our excursion booklet and have found the Chilkoot Trail Hike 'N Float adventure and the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari. He wants to do the chilkoot trail, I want to do the safari. Anyone want to throw in their two cents worth?? Come on, give me some good stuff ;) to change one of our minds!! I need details from those who have been on these excursions, please!!

We were up early for breakfast this day as we had signed up for a 7:45 AM excursion. We chose the Hike & Float the Chilkoot Trail excursion for that day. Our guide met us on the pier. Only four people had signed up for this excursion. I was a bit surprised that only four people out of 2000 had signed up for this. They picked us up in a van and we headed for the town of Dyea. That day we would hike two miles of the Chilkoot Trail. The Chilkoot Trail is 32 miles long. It has been said by those who study the Gold Rush, that the Chilkoot Trail “is the meanest 32 miles in history”. However, today hikers refer to it as the “most beautiful 32 miles in Alaska…”

As we arrived at the trailhead, Sean (our guide) went over some basic procedures for our hike that day. Although he was not from Alaska (from Ohio via Colorado), he was a very knowledgeable guide. He had a degree in biology, served two years in the Peace Corp, was an 8th grade science teacher, ski instructor, rafting guide and hiking guide. He was well suited to be our guide on this hike/float. He made an impression on us in regards of what to do in case we encounter a bear. All of us should slowly put our hands above our head and start talking or singing. He did make it very clear to us that we should not run. The reason we should not run is because we cannot out run a bear! However, just in case, he also had pepper spray that was about 600 times stronger than what we could purchase in a store. Next, Sean handed out trail mix and we were on our way.

It was a great hike. The only thing that would have made it better was if it had been longer. Also, it really was worth having a guide. We would have missed many things that out guide pointed out and explained to us. For instance, we came upon a tree with bear claw marks. They were about five inches wide and about 12 - 15 inches long. Sean asked us what type of bear made theses marks, black or brown? Of course we did not know. As it turned out, they were from a black bear because each of the claws started at a different height. Sean pointed many things about the ecosystem there. It was fascinating. At the two-mile point, we got in a raft and floated back down the TaiyaRiver. The float lasted about 40 minutes. There were no rapids; it was an easy float.

On the way back to Skagway, Sean took us to the Soapy Smith gravesite. There is a lot of history and many stories regarding this con man. We both agreed that this excursion was very good. Subsequently I bought the book, Chilkoot Pass by Archie Satterfield. It provided much more insight to the things we saw that day and the stories we were told.

On our most recent trip to Alaska we did the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari.

It was incredible! From my journal:

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Day 6 – Wednesday June 8, Skagway

Few times in your life you get that feeling that what you are about to do will list in the top 5-10 things you’ve done in your life... well this was one of them. We signed up for the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari excursion in Skagway. I had a good idea before we went that it would be good, but it far exceeded my expectations.

We were met at the pier by one of the guides (Jeff). He was a lively guy, especially at 7:00 AM. You almost wanted to take his coffee away and not give it back. J But we didn’t. He got us onboard the Chikat Express – a very fast catamaran that could reach speeds of ~50 MPH (http://www.ship-technology.com/proj...hilkat_express/). Our destination was Glacier Point. It was about 33 nautical miles from Haines and I think we were about seven or eight nautical miles from there.

As we made out way out of the channel, Jeff (our guide) told us how in 2001 he was one of us. After this excursion while on his vacation, he made the decision to quit his job and move to Alaska. He did. He is now a resident of Haines, Alaska. He really has passion in what he is doing and also in Alaska. He explained so very much to us on out ride over to Glacier Point. He was also very animated in his presentation style.

He was currently living at Glacier Point, in the wilderness with about 10-12 other guides. This was getting more fascinating by the moment. Besides explaining what things were and why things were in Alaska one of the other things he mentioned was how to tell a true South East Alaskan. He said to ask them for the red tide book. He pulled his out and showed it to us. It is a small pamphlet that tells what the tides are for each day of the year. Basically, you are in a lot of trouble in South East Alaska if you are not aware of the tides. For instance, that day there was a 19.3 foot tide fluctuation. The first high tide of the day was at 2:10 AM at 17.3 feet and the first low tide of the day was at 8:47 AM at – 2.0 feet. The second high tide was at 3:18 PM at 14.9 feet and the second low tide of the day was at 8:47 PM at 4.1 feet. He then told us we could pick up a free copy of this pamphlet at the Skagway True Value Hardware store. (Later in town we picked up a copy – a real Alaskan souvenir!)

We did a beach landing at Glacier Point. This is the wilderness, there are no docks. Within a minute of all exiting the catamaran, it was gone. So there we were far away from civilization, far from the crowds, far from the noise, far from everything. It was awesome. We had incredibly nice weather that day. The scenery was indescribable!

Jeff taught us that anything (mountains) with a sharp jagged edge had not been covered with ice. Anything shaped like a “U” is where a glacier had been at one point. We explored the surrounding area. There were thousands and thousands of wild roses just up from the beach. One of the significant facts about this beach was that John Muir visited here in the late 1800s (Travels in Alaska by John Muir). We were told that the glacier (Davidson Glacier) ended near the beach back when John Muir was here. Today the glacier is miles back as it is a receding glacier.

A few hundred yards away was a modified 4x4 school bus. It was our transportation to where they had all the gear we needed for this excursion. It was a short trip, maybe a few miles through the rainforest. Jeff pointed out information about the forest as we drove. The types of trees, size of trees and density of trees were all indicators of the age of the forest. It was very interesting.

We got off the bus next to a structure that had rain gear, boots, and extra jackets. Everyone traded their shoes for a pair of boots. Next everyone was given a jacket as the temperature would be about 20 degrees cooler as we got closer to the glacier. And finally each of us was given a life vest. It was sunny that day so the guides decided we did not need to have the raingear J.

Next we all hiked about a quarter mile towards the beach on the DavidsonRiver. A few hundred yards from the beach is where we first had a glimpse of Davidson Glacier. Of course everyone wanted to stop and take pictures. They divided us up into groups of 6-8, gave us safety instructions regarding canoes, and one by one we were on our way paddling to Davidson Glacier.

Our canoe guide was very knowledgeable regarding glaciers and our conversations were mostly in that area. This was an incredible excursion! At one point our guide picked up a piece of ice (from the glacier) and passed it around the canoe. We got within 100 yards of Davidson Glacier. Plenty of pictures were taken during this time.

In two trips to Alaska, this was without doubt the best excursion we had been on. The absolute highlight of our time in Alaska. Needless to say, we highly recommend it!

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To see pictures from our Glacier Point Wilderness Safari, click on

Alaska 2005 below - Glacier Point pictures are on the top row.

Good luck and enjoy Alaska!

Of the 2, definately Glacier Point. :)

IF (and I stress the "if") you want more time in Skagway I'd go with the hike' n float but otherwise the Glacier Point Safari... The Hike 'n float is really an excellent option for a half-day tour.

... that's our decision too. I want to be able to stroll around before heading back to the ship, plus sweat a little!:)