Since we only had 3 miles to go today, it was a lazy morning with a start at 8:25 am. About 15 minutes from camp the word “bear” was written on the trail twice by Frank and Kelly who had started earlier in the morning. We both immediately started singing and being very loud. Cody and Emma caught up with us within 5 minutes and decided to walk with us the rest of the way. It was an easy walk to Bennett and time went by quickly as we talked with Cody to keep our noise level up. As we got closer to Bennett there were several more buildings from the Klondike era.
We made it to Bennett train station around 11 am. The train did not come until 2:40 pm so we sat around and waited for the rest of the hikers. It was cooler than we anticipated and we were all getting hungry. Time to bring out the leftovers. Ellen decided to boil some water and make some Idahoan instant mashed potatoes which she shared with other hikers. Eric and Mary-Jill had some leftover blueberries they picked from the trail and made PB&J crackers. Jeff shared a beverage with another bourbon lover hiker overlooking the lake. It was a feast.
Around 3:15 it was time to take the train back to Skagway. It was a scenic 2 hour ride, although foggy at times. We stopped at US/Canadian border for conductor to turn in the paperwork for all the hikers. We got to Skagway around 5:30 pm where US Customs came on board to check everyone’s passport.
Then it was time for that all important end of the trail meal. Of to Skagway brewery for beer and dinner with Cody, Erich and Mary-Jill. After dinner we said goodbye to our new friends and went back to our accommodations for a shower and bed.
Journeys with Jeff and Ellen 