Gold was discovered in Rabbit Creek, later named Bonanza Creek, near Dawson City, Yukon, Canada in August 1896. News of this discovery reached the United States in July 1897, setting off the Klondike stampede. Men from all walks of life headed for the Yukon. They came from as far away as New York, United Kingdom, and Australia. Most prospectors landed at the Alaska town of Skagway, or the nearby tent city of Dyea, both located at the head of the Lynn Canal. The combined population of these two towns swelled to over 20,000 inhabitants. Today, Skagway has less than 1,000 residents. From these towns they traveled the Chilkoot Trail and crossed the Chilkoot Pass, or they hiked up to the White Pass and proceeded to Lake Lindeman or Bennett Lake, the headwaters of the Yukon River. Here, some 25 to 35 grueling miles from where they had landed, prospectors built rafts and boats that would take them the final 500-plus miles down the Yukon to Dawson City, near the Gold Fields. Stampeders had to carry a year's supply of goods - about a ton, more than half of it food - over the passes to be allowed to enter Canada. At the top of the passes the stampeders encountered Canada's North West Mounted Police (NWMP and now the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) posts that enforced that regulation, as well as customs and duties. It was put in place to avert shortages like those that had occurred in the previous two winters in Dawson City, and also to restrict the entry of guns, particularly handguns, into British territory. Another reason was to keep out of Canadian territory the criminal element which had established itself in Skagway and the other Yukon Ports, as well as the fears by British and Canadian authorities about a possible armed takeover of the goldfields as an American territory. In total, about 12.5 million ounces of gold have been taken from the Klondike area in the century since its discovery. One of the people that participated in the gold rush was author Jack London whose books 'White Fang', 'The Call of the Wild', and 'To Build a Fire' had me fascinated as a boy. And now I traveled along this historic route, in the comfort of a bus on a paved highway 2. This was the highlight of my Alaska cruise. This picture was taken on 28 May 2009. Thank you for viewing, commenting, and favs, Sig...