Jack London in the Klondike: Dyea to Dawson

On 12 July 1897 London, aged 21, sailed north with his brother-in-law, Captain Shepard. Their steamer put them ashore at Dyea, the port at the foot of the Chilkoot Trail, where he would have to haul a ton of supplies over the mountains. He later gave the same beach to Buck: "first day on the Dyea beach was like a nightmare." The town is gone; a few foundations, three cemeteries and the ruins of the wharf remain inside Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.

Visitor guidance: Ruins and cemeteries in the national park; bears are common, especially in salmon season (July–August).

The trail climbed to the Scales, the last place where packs were reweighed, just before the main ascent, which was too steep for animals. In winter workers cut 1,500 ice steps, the "Golden Stairs", and charged travelers to use them. Canadian police required at least one ton of gear per person, and London had to hump his share over this pass. The climb with a pack could take a day to reach the top of the 1,000-foot slope.

Location precision: The sources place London on this trail but not at a specific spot; the pin marks the pass itself.

Visitor guidance: The Chilkoot Trail is a multi-day hike through Alaska and British Columbia; check park rules before going.

Beyond the pass the trail reached Lake Lindeman, the head of the Yukon River system. Here a tent city sprawled among felled spruce as prospectors built boats. London and his three companions made two flat-bottomed craft and christened them Yukon Belle and The Belle of the Yukon. It was a race: whoever reached Dawson first would stake the best claims.

Location precision: The boatyards lined the lake shore; the pin marks Lake Lindeman, not the exact camp.

The first test on the river was Miles Canyon and the Whitehorse Rapids. London's crew could portage or run them, so they took a vote and ran them. It worked, and other parties offered money to be piloted through: at $25 a trip, Jack and his crew steered 120 boats over the next few days. By June 1898 many boats and five people had been lost there. They now lie under Schwatka Lake, flooded by a dam in 1958.

Location precision: The sources name the canyon and rapids, not the exact place of his runs; the pin marks Miles Canyon.

Visitor guidance: Miles Canyon is a short walk from Whitehorse; the original rapids are submerged.

Ice caught London's party at the mouth of the Stewart River, about 75 miles short of Dawson. They moved into an abandoned cabin, stocked firewood, and waited for spring. He prospected a little, once mistook fool's gold for the mother lode, and spent the winter talking with stranded prospectors. His cabin, originally on Henderson Creek, a tributary of the Stewart River, became the winter's social centre.

Location precision: Sources say only "the mouth of the Stewart River" and Henderson Creek; no pin is given.

London's Klondike stay lasted until June 1898. Malnutrition brought scurvy: his gums swelled and he lost his four front teeth. Father William Judge, "The Saint of Dawson", ran a facility offering shelter, food and any medicine available. London's mining career ended, but his stories began; in The Call of the Wild Buck's team pulls into Dawson "one dreary afternoon".

Location precision: London's exact lodgings in town are not given; the pin marks the Dawson townsite.

Visitor guidance: Dawson City is in the Yukon, remote; the Jack London cabin is the next stop.

In 1936 trappers found the ruins of London's winter cabin; his signature was scratched on the back wall. It was taken apart and, in the 1960s, moved to a spot beside downtown Dawson. Today it is the focus of the Jack London Interpretive Centre, where visitors can learn about the author and his life in the Yukon. London wrote that the Klondike was where he "found myself", and its scenes fill his northern stories.

Visitor guidance: Part of the Jack London Interpretive Centre in Dawson City, close to downtown.