Over 100,000 "stampeders" set out for the gold fields of the Yukon River and its tributaries in Canada and Alaska between 1897 and 1898, seeing them as a promising opportunity in what had been a bleak decade (Panic of 1893). The first major Klondike gold discovery occurrred on August 16, 1896. The most popular routes were through Dyea and over the Chilkoot Pass or through Skagway and over the White Pass. Neither route was easy; during the winter months, heavy snow and ice made the trip dangerous and difficult, in the fall and spring, travelers had to contend with thick, unending mud, and in the summer, travelers had to pick their way along trails littered with sharp, jagged rocks.

Conditions on White Pass were dreadful. The route was narrow, steep, slick and overcrowded. The 26-mile trail over Chilkoot Pass was steep and hazardous. Most stampeders who gave up did so attempting to cross the summit. The fortune seekers were required by the Northwest Mounted Police to bring a year's supplies with them because of the inclement weather and because adequate posts were far between. To move one outfit (a year's supplies) over the pass, stampeders packed and cached their goods, "walking 80 miles for every single mile they moved their provisions." On the Dyea Trail, many hikers took three months to move their goods to the summit. Stampeders who could pay high fees relied on Chilkat, Chilkoot and Stikine Indian packers. Stampeders short of funds also worked as packers.

The album may have been a sample album made by the photographer to show his work. The inside page has the text "booklets containing these views".