From Cheechakos to Sourdoughs: Two Ivy Leaguers' Quest for Yukon Gold

An epic tale of two Ivy League graduates' struggles in the 1898 Yukon gold rush -their grueling efforts to reach the fabled gold fields, the forming and breakup of partnerships, homesickness, periods of indecision, physical challenges, frequent illness, tedious cabin life, mining for gold in the dark winter days, and physical and emotional exhaustion. Mark Odell, the authors' maternal grandfather, and Ellis Aldrich, his best college chum, dropped out of their last quarters at Cornell Law School and joined the mad rush to the Yukon. They prospected, mined, and stayed the winter of 1898/99 at a cabin on the headwaters of Wolverine Creek, near Fort Selkirk. Questions arose over the amount of gold they found. The men trekked 400 miles out of the Yukon over the little discussed Winter River Trail -the frozen Yukon River waterway. Many prior unseen photos of their adventure are included.