One Lucky Hike

Title: One Lucky Hike

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Sam is a 40-year-old man from Juneau, Alaska. Sam grew up in Southeast Alaska, and currently works for the state government. Sam hiked the Chilkoot trail in 2015.

Contextual Data:

Historical Context: First used by the Tlingit people of Alaska as a trade route, the Chilkoot became an important trail for miners and prospectors coming to Alaska during the Klondike gold rush at the end of the 1800s. The trail was mostly abandoned after the end of the gold rush in 1898, until the trail was restored for recreational hikers in the 1960s. (Source)
Social Context: Sam mentioned this when asked about his experience hiking, and if he would hike the trail again.

Item:

The informant talks about the element of luck he experienced during his hike. The weather along the trail can vary greatly, and can greatly effect the overall experience of the hike. He felt very lucky that he had good weather when he hiked, but believed that his luck would run out if he hiked the trail again.

Transcript:

“I had an attitude when I did [the hike]. [My wife] had done it a year before with her friend. They had such bad weather that when I did it and had perfect weather, my attitude about it became, ‘If this was perfect, then I don’t want to do it again.’ I don’t want to go hike and end up in a bad situation, because I now have a very good memory of the trail.”

Collector’s Name: Soren Thompson

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive