Horse Tram Eco-Challenge
2 minute read
The horse tram is getting a makeover. The trail has been a muddy, miserable cut through the rainforest, connecting Amalga harbor, just north of Juneau, with the trail system at Boy Scout Beach, and the Windfall, Eagle Glacier, and Herbert Glacier trails.
The original route dates from the early 1900’s when miners slashed a track by hand to connect the Eagle River gold mine with the safe harbor at Amalga. They constructed a tram of planking and iron rails that ferried supplies in and gold and silver out for more than a decade until the mine shuttered in 1915.
Today, the trail starts as a wide and well maintained gravel path from the Eagle Valley Center at Amalga Harbor. The path winds along the shore and after a few hundred meters, veers inland across a series of open, marshy meadows. Last time we checked, the route could stand in for a section of the World’s Toughest Race, Eco Challenge. We sludged through the mud, balanced across fallen logs, and struggled to avoid the painful Devil’s Club endemic to Southeast Alaska.
Since then, Trail Mix, Juneau’s heroic crew dedicated to making our hiking lives pleasant, has been hard at work renovating and restoring the trail. They’ve helicopter slingloaded bags of gravel along the route and have begun the process of constructing sections into a usable trail.
We ran the trail recently. The newly graveled track is spongy and wonderful until we abruptly hit a section still under construction. Bring a pair of boots, or plan to get your shoes muddy - the middle mile of the trail is still a morass before it connects to the developed trails at Boy Scout Beach.
The Details
From downtown Juneau, take Glacier Highway 24 miles (39 km) north, then turn left into Amalga Harbor. Take the first right down a dirt road to Eagle Valley Center to the trailhead. The Horse Tram trail is level and approximately 2.3 miles (3.5 km). Once crews complete the current trail renovation project, this will be an easy and rewarding hiking or running trail with numerous connections to expand on. Download the Horse Tram GPX file to add to Google Maps or your GPS device.
Stay safe out there!