Stampeders on the Ashcroft and Stikine trails, and some who came overland from Edmonton, entered the river system at Teslin Lake. They floated down the Teslin River (then called the Hootalinqua or Teslintoo), joining the Yukon River at Hootalinqua below Lake Laberge. The stretch of river between Lake Laberge and the mouth of the Teslin River at Hootalinqua was called, in Gold Rush days, the Thirtymile River.
Some started from Edmonton and followed the Mackenzie River north, crossing to the Pelly or Stewart rivers and floating down to the Yukon above Dawson City. Others went further north on the Mackenzie and crossed to the Porcupine River. Their route met the Yukon River in Alaska, well downstream from Dawson City.
