Is this the really tough part?

Copyright 2006 Lydia Hinshaw

SKAGWAY, AK -- Somehow I don't think the hardy participants in the Klondyke Gold Rush had the benefit of these nice boardwalks when they were ferrying supplies on their backs up the Chilkoot Trail.
But then, many of them would have passed through this area several months earlier than May, so these frozen swamps would have been walkable.
Today, our 10th day in Skagway and the first day it didn't rain, we hiked the first 3.5 miles of this 33-mile trail that retraces a popular Gold Rush route. After clambering over two rocky "humps" in a moss-carpeted rain forest, which took about an hour, we found ourselves hiking a flat trail, crossing waterways on steel bridges and transiting swamps on boardwalks. It was easy enough, but boring.
It takes a couple of days to get to the tough part of the Chilkoot, in an area that can't be reached right now because of heavy snow. We know this because three l young men tried to complete the 33 mile trek last week and wound up turning back. Seems they had had to hole up in a tent for hours while a blizzard swirled around them. They were glad to be alive, and grateful to have been able to walk out instead of being rescued.
Later in the summer, so many backpackers will want to hike the trail that the National Park Service, and Parks Canada, will limit backcountry permits to 50 per day.
It felt great to get out of the cabin and into the woods for a change. It was a particularly outstanding day for Prince Charming, who found something on the trail that was most likely left behind by a bear. He's posting a picture on his blog at espressovan.blogspot.com. Don't say I didn't warn you.