Conditions on the Yukon River required dogs to go through deep snow and navigate glare ice.

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During the Gold Rush, prospectors spent five long days on it, from the Pacific Ocean to the Yukon River.

BBC: Kluane, Canada (Credit: Parks Canada/Fritz Mueller)

While a cruiser will not have time to experience the entire 665-mile Chilkoot Trail from Skagway to the headwaters of the Yukon River, local hikes can give you a sense of what these prospectors faced.

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Then came an offer to lead an army expedition along Canada's river Yukon, which set his future.

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