Valdez Museum & Historical Archive

Many of the early prospectors arrived in Valdez during the spring of 1898 aboard the Pacific Steam Whaling Company's converted whaler "Valencia."  The ship was converted for passengers on the east coast and sailed around Cape Horn to carry gold seekers from San Francisco and Seattle to Port Valdez.  The shipping company was responsible for much of the misinformation regarding the supposed wealth of the Copper River Gold Fields.

When the gold rushers arrived at the head of Port Valdez, they found no dock only an 18 inch thick sheet of ice on which to unload their tons of supplies.  Conditions in the early tent town perched on the edge of the glacier stream were primitive indeed. The early camp called "Copper City" served as a way station for the 3000 to 4000 stampeders who would hazard the hardships of crossing Valdez Glacier in hopes of discovering another Klondike in the Copper River Valley on the far side of the Chugach Mountain Range.

The prospectors hauled as much as 2,000 pounds for thirty miles up and over the 4,800 foot summit of Valdez Glacier and down into Klutina River Valley.  Depending on the steepness of the grade, loads of from 50 to 200 pounds could be managed so numerous trips were necessary.  Some labored for as much as six weeks to move their year's supply of food and equipment over the glacier.  Many became discouraged by the hard work and the tough winter conditions and turned back to Valdez.  Others pushed on hoping for the promised bonanza in the Copper River Valley.

Once off the glacier, the prospectors built boats by rip-sawing the local spruce trees into planks and bulkheads. They first descended the upper Klutina River to twenty-mile-long Lake Klutina which they rowed or sailed to its outlet 25 miles above the Copper River.  Many, while attempting to reach the Copper River, lost their entire outfits shooting the rapids of the lower Klutina. Those who reached the confluence of the Klutina and Copper Rivers found a thriving encampment there known as "Copper Center."

Of the Prospector's who reached Copper Center, most became discouraged by fall and returned home because of the poor prospects for gold in the Copper River Basin.  However, some 500 remained for the winter, hoping to get an early start at prospecting the next spring.  Because of the poor diet, those wintering over began to experience symptoms of scurvy.  There was a general panic and all but a few either crossed back over the glacier or descended the Copper River to Orca by sled.  More than a few either died of scurvy or perished in their attempts to reach civilization.

Hoping to find a glacier-free route to the interior, Capt. Abercrombie sent several scouting parties to search for a route.  By the fall of 1898, Corporal Heiden's group found Thompson Pass and cut a trail across the mountainside above impassable Keystone Canyon.  In 1899, Lt. Babcock, a few military men and many destitute prospectors cut a 5 foot wide trail above Keystone Canyon and a 10 foot wide trail to Thompson Pass, beginning the All-American, ice-free route to Alaska's interior.  The trail was originally to extend to Eagle, but when gold was discovered in Fairbanks, the route was changed to Fairbanks. Today, the Richardson Highway covers most of the old trail, but parts of the historic trail are still visible and can be hiked in the Keystone Canyon to Thompson Pass area.