SOCKEYE CYCLE GUIDE TRAINING OUTLINE
The more prepared you are prior to your arrival to work as a guide, the easier it will be for you during training week and during your first month of tours. Study the procedures listed below in detail from the tour logistics manual and use the resource links on our staff page for the learning modules.
You need to touch on all five categories of information on every tour. The learning modules are divided into three levels. Level 1 items in yellow are the topics that you need to have a basic knowledge of prior to your arrival in AK. Level 2 in green are items that you will need to learn during the season. Level 3 in turquoise is for returning guides to know and those that want to dig deeper into the material.
BASIC PROCEDURES:
Klondike Bicycle Tour
Rainforest Bicycle Tour
Bike Orientation – Practice and Memorize
Safety Briefing - Read verbatim from the script
Guide Responsibilities
Sample Tour Narration
CATEGORIES:
1. ALASKA/SKAGWAY
Skagway Prior to 1900
Gold Rush Diversity
o Women
o Children
o African Americans
o Immigrants
Skagway 1900 – 1942
Skagway 1943 – 1969 & WWII
Skagway 1970 – Present
Barges and Ore Dock – where they go, etc.
Skagway and Garden City
White Pass & Yukon Route (Yesterday and Today)
AK – First inhabitants
AK – Pre Gold Rush
AK – Pre Statehood
AK – Post Statehood
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA)
Alaska National Interest Lands Act (ANILCA)
AK – Present
Economy
Tourism
Fishing
Mining – AK & Yukon
Logging
Oil
Other
Permanent Fund
Population
Lifestyle
Subsistence
Recreation
Challenges
Winter
Medical
Local Schools
2. NATURAL HISTORY
Plants - 6 - 12
Wildlife
Bears
Goats
Moose
Marmot
Wolverines
Porcupines
Wolves
Deer
Shrews
Mink
Etc.
Birds including Ducks: 6 - 12
§ Surf Scoters
§ Mergansers
§ Buffleheads
§ Harlequin
§ Thrush
§ Eagle
§ Raven
§ Etc
Marine Mammals: 4 - 6
Whales
Sea Lions
Seals
Porpoise
Otters
Fish: 5 - 8
Hooligan
Salmon
Halibut
Dolly Varden
Crustaceans:
Shrimp & Krill
Crab
Moss & Lichen:
Climate/Weather:
Atmosphere & Oceanic Currents – Rain Shadow Cloud
Phytoplankton
Geology
Rocks
Plate Tectonics
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Glaciers
Formation
Periods
Aurora (Northern Lights)
Causes/Formation
3. NATIVE CULTURE
Tlingit
Chilkat
Chilkoot
Interior – Yukon Tribes
Oral History
Creation Myths – Raven
Dance
Art
Clan Structure
Moiety
Lifestyle
White Contact
Early explorers
John Muir
Gold Rush
Present Status
Subsistence
4. GEOGRAPHY/CLIMATE
Regions
SE Alaska
Size
Communities/Population
Climate
Tongass National Forest
Size
Rainforest Info
Parks
Glacier Bay
Wrangle/St Elias
Yukon Canada
Size
Communities/Population
Climate
Parks
Kluane
Tatshenshini/Alsek
5. ENVIRONMENT
Resource Development
Logging
Mining
Oil
Tourism
Fishing
Fur
Habitat/Ecosystem
Salmon
Wildlife
Ecological Succession
Communities and Habitats
AK Conservation Groups
Alaska Conservation Foundation (ACF)
Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC)
Lynn Canal Conservation (LCC)
Taiya Inlet Watershed Council
National Forest VS National Park
Current Issues
Road to Juneau
Mining
Mineral Values
Mining Law of 1872
Water Pollution
Pebble Prospect
Logging
Clearcuts
Roads
Native Lands
Old VS. New
Tongass Timber Reform Act
Oil Development
History
Arctic Refuge
Offshore
OTHER
Literary – We have a library of books in our Skagway housing common area. We recommend that you go to your local library and check out the books below for some basic knowledge and history of the area.
o Jack London – Various Stories
o Robert Service – Various Poetry
o Pierre Berton – Klondike Fever
NOTES: