What was life like during the Klondike Gold Rush?

Miners heading north during the Klondike Gold Rush. Looks great!

It’s hard to imagine, but only 120 years ago tens of thousands of stampeders came to Alaska and the Yukon to find gold during the Klondike Gold Rush. There were no phones, no lights, no motorcars, not a single luxury! Well, that’s not exactly true. There were lights. And there were some luxuries. But whatever. Let’s talk about life during the Klondike Gold Rush so you can get a sense of what life was like for all those crazy miners.

It was a long time ago during the Klondike Gold Rush

A lot has happened over the last 120 years, which is why the Klondike Gold Rush was so long ago. Nowadays, you can get off your cruise ship in Skagway, hop on a bus, and in about an hour cross over the border to the Yukon Territory. If this were 1898, traveling that same distance would take months. Plus, you would have to bring your own snack, protect yourself from the elements, and constantly worry about being attacked by a wild animal or half-crazed miner.

In today’s society, people will complain if their air conditioning stops working for 20 minutes or their internet goes out. Back during the Gold Rush, people were more worried about scurvy, drowning, or taking a dirt nap from a cap in the back. Back then there were notorious outlaws, but today we elect them to government office. It really makes you think.

Traveling to the Klondike pretty much sucked

Okay. So, let’s imagine that instead of traveling to Skagway on a modern cruise ship, you just sailed up on a crowded steamship that almost sank three times in rough seas. You made it! Now you have to figure out how to get to the gold fields in the Klondike, which are only about 550 miles away. There is no road, no rail, and you have to carry 2,000 pounds of provisions or the Canadian government won’t let you cross the border. You’re also really itchy for some reason.

If it were me, I would get back on the steamship and head back home, but you are chock full of true grit! Let’s say you avoid getting mugged and have enough money to secure a backpack, warm clothes, food, and topical cream. Next, you have to choose whether to hike the Chilkoot Trail or the White Pass Trail. It’s a tough choice because they both suck.

You opt for the White Pass Trail because you called “heads.” How bad can it be? It’s only 35 miles! Then you realize you can only carry about 50 pounds at a time, which means you have to hike back and forth in intervals. Add it all up and you are actually hiking about 1,500 miles over rugged, steep terrain in terrible weather. Best of luck.

You made it over the pass! Only 520 miles to go

When you finally make it over the pass, you have to build a boat to float the rest of the way. I bet you wish you’d taken that boat building class at the YMCA. Anyway, you build your boat and you float through some lakes and rivers and everything is going great until the wind kicks up and your boat starts to take on water. The lake is 500 feet deep, 40 degrees, and you’re wearing 4 layers of heavy wool. You’re also out of topical cream. Bummer.

Let’s just skip ahead and say you survived the elements and Bigfoot attack all the way to the Klondike before winter set in. The town is nothing more than a bunch of smelly dudes trying to find gold. They are also cranky and well armed. There is no Tim Hortons. Then winter sets in and the temperature drops to 60-below zero on warm days. This is your life. After a few months of misery and futility, you decide to head back home so you get to do the entire trip in reverse. When you arrive back to Skagway, you’re rewarded by a kick in the chin from some cheeky little brat. You still have enough money for a steamship ticket but you go to the Red Onion Saloon and make some poor choices. Looks like you’re stuck for a while. Fortunately, there are some career opportunities scooping horse poop. Dreams do come true.

Today is a lot better than the Klondike Gold Rush

I think we can all agree that we are very lucky to be in this area today instead of during the Klondike Gold Rush. We have lovely restaurants, a paved highway, and synthetic base layers. We can share our memories on Instagram with photos taken by a selfie stick. We can complain that our soup is slightly too cold and send it back to the kitchen.

We truly are lucky.