Few episodes in Canadian history have captured the imagination
like the Klondike gold rush , and few places have remained
as evocative of their past as DAWSON CITY , the stampede's
tumultuous capital. For a few months in 1898 this former patch of
moose pasture became one of the wealthiest and most famous places
on earth, as something like 100,000 people struggled across huge
tracts of wilderness to seek their fortunes in the richest gold
field of all time.
Most people approach the town on the Klondike Hwy from
Whitehorse, a wonderful road running through almost utter
wilderness, and knowing the background to the place it's hard not
to near the road's end without high expectations. Little at first,
however, distinguishes its surroundings. Some 500km from Whitehorse
the road wanders through low but steeply sided hills covered in
spruce, aspen and dwarf firs, and then picks up a small ice-clear
river - the Klondike . Gradually the first small spoil heaps
appear on the hills to the south, and then suddenly the entire
valley bottom turns into a devastated landscape of vast boulders
and abandoned workings. The desolate tailings continue for several
kilometres until the Klondike flows into the much broader
Yukon and the town, previously hidden by hills, comes
suddenly into view.
An ever-increasing number of tourists and backpackers come up
here, many drawn by the boardwalks, rutted dirt streets and dozens
of false-fronted wooden houses, others to canoe the Yukon or travel
down the Dempster or Top of the World highways into Alaska and the
Northwest Territories. After decades of decline Parks Canada is
restoring the town, now deservedly a National Historic Site, a
process that is bringing about increased commercialism, increased
population (2000 and rising), new hotels and a sense that some of
the town's character may be about to be lost. That said, in a spot
where permafrost buckles buildings, it snows in August, and
temperatures touch -60°C during winters of almost perpetual gloom,
there's little real chance of Dawson losing the gritty,
weather-battered feel of a true frontier town. More to the point,
small-time prospecting still goes on, and there are one or two
rough-and-ready bars whose hardened locals take a dim view of
sharing their beers, let alone their gold, with coachloads of
tourists.
You could easily spend a couple of days here: one exploring the
town, the other touring the old Klondike creeks to the east. If at
all possible prime yourself beforehand with the background to one
of the most colourful chapters in Canada's history: Pierre Berton's
widely available bestseller, Klondike - The Last Great Gold Rush
1896-1899 , is a superbly written introduction both to the
period and to the place.