A Few Tips for Hiking the Chilkoot

When I signed Arthur up for the library's reading program last summer, one of the librarians casually mentioned that she would be hiking the Chilkoot Trail. I made a mental note to ask her about it and I finally did, just last week. She had some excellent advice, which I am now passing on to everyone else.

1) Take as much time as you can to experience as much as you can. Her family did the hike in 5 days and they were really glad they did. They thought that taking more time enabled them to check out some of the other smaller trails and enjoy the picturesque scenery. We will also be taking 5 days - mark your calendar for July 9-14th!

2) Make your reservations early. Reservations also need to be made for campgrounds. There is also an orientation that everyone must attend before hiking. If one person in your group is missing or if you are late to the orientation, you must wait until the next one.

3) As for equipment: wear good, waterproof hiking boots. Bring gloves to protect hands from rocky areas. Hiking poles were a good idea. Do not wear jeans.

4) Our group must travel together when we reach Canada. The boarder guards will not let us pass unless all of our group is present. If we have super hikers, they will have to wait at the boarder for all of the stragglers.

5) She also said that the meal at the end of the trip was totally worth it: stew, bread, apple pie...I'm getting hungry right now just thinking about it.

6) In the campgrounds along the trail, one side was stocked with toilet paper and the other side wasn't. She couldn't remember if it was the Alaska side or the Canadian side, however. Bring some T.P. and hand sanitizer just to be on the safe side.

7) The best piece of advice, however, was that the Trail was not as difficult as she thought it would be. That's very promising, isn't it?