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Show U2 I stopped there for a bowl of navy beans and then hurried on my way. From here the t r a i l followed the river into a narrow canyon about f i f t y feet wide, which was cluttered with boulders and fallen trees-and more rubber boots. A cold wind blew down the canyon, piercing through a l l our Mackinaw jackets, causing tempers to f l a r e . Anyone who blocked the narrow t r a i l for any reason was simply pushed aside. There was a kind of madness that winter on the Chilkoot Trail. I stopped at Canyon City, a huddle of tents in the middle of the gorge, and I decided this would be my f i r s t relay point. I set up my tent between two red alder t r e e s , and l e f t my pack i n s i d e . Returning down the t r a i l to Dyea that night, I f a i r l y flew with my sled-like a leaping Chilkoot, This was my pattern for twenty-five days, almost the entire month of November, I made twenty t r i p s in twenty days, depositing my ton of supplies in my t e n t at Canyon City. Each night I ran back to Dyea and slept i n a bunkhouse hotel on Trail Street, On the second day I set up my portable sheet-iron stove in my t e n t , planning to save money cooking for myself. For my f i r s t supper I cooked beans, pancakes, and coffee. The beans were hard as rocks, the pancakes doughy, and the coffee b i t t e r . After that, I ate in the t r a i l - s i d e cafeterias. |