Had it not been for the long Alaska Highway, Whitehorse would not be the town it is today with hotels, restaurants, an airfield, and a population of over 8,000 people. That's far from being a ghost town. But that's not the way things were and the town has not forgotten its beginning. Relics of the past such as the town's single street along the waterfront, old loading docks and hulks of steamboats that once tied up there along with false-fronted buildings remain from the days prospectors swarmed into Whitehorse. The town was not an easy place to reach, especially for those who choose to reach it by water down the Yukon. One of the most feared stretches of the entire waterway was Miles Canyon where a torrent of white water flowed at express train speed. Then there was White Horse Rapids where the foamy, misty crests took the form of charging white stallions. The trip by boat down the Yukon to Whitehorse was more than 25 miles. And not all that tried made it. Then came the building of two tramlines running parallel along the sides of Miles Canyon, eliminating the dangerous trip by boat down the Yukon. One line terminated at a camp named Closeleigh and the other at a town across the Yukon named Whitehorse. As Whitehorse grew, Closeleigh faded into the sunset and is no more. - Ghosttowns.com