Cars, planes and trains! – The walk

East Glacier Montana, the starting point for most south-bound hikers. The easiest way to get there is by train, the Empire Builder. The next step is to choose how to get to a station. We chose to fly to Minneapolis and board in St. Paul.

«He says we’re going the wrong way.» -Neal

«Oh, he’s drunk. How would he know where we’re going?» – Of the

Automobiles

My dad agreed to take us to the airport because my mom had minor surgery two days earlier and didn’t need to spend all that time in a car. The trip to the airport usually takes approximately one hour and thirty to forty-five minutes. There was a delay due to a car accident. The road was closed, forcing us to go up the ramp. From there we saw a car wrapped around a burned tree. We stopped at Wendy’s near the airport for lunch.

Planes

We will check our bags after they drop us off. I had mine wrapped in plastic to protect all the loose straps. I came to this solution when I spoke to Southwest customer service. The check-in person said it couldn’t be like that. Okay, no problem, I cut it up and threw it away, the checked bag is fine. Next we headed to the TSA. I have a box of food that I plan to restock. TSA says there’s something inside that the machine picked up. It’s the jar of peanut butter and grape jelly. Apparently, they are classified as liquids, so they should be in smaller portions. I don’t understand why flying with one sealed 16oz container of peanut butter is bad, but 16 1oz containers are fine. Okay, I guess… I’ll find something to replace it with later. Let’s hope the peanut butter in the checked bag is safe. As expected, they start asking people to check their carry-on luggage, so Side Miles and I happily accept.

The first flight to Midway is fine, our flight attendant notices the Side Miles AT tattoo and starts talking to us about it. When we get off we discover that our flight to Minneapolis is delayed. Change round trip departure times 5 times. Now when we get there, the brewery we were going to go to will be closed and we will be forced to pay for airport food at FULL PRICE. I got a Ghost Pepper burger, which was delicious, but lacked flavor. I have had water that was spicier. The flight to Minneapolis was quick, but they skipped the snack service.

Train

After a quick city bus ride to St. Paul’s Union Station, we waited for the train. There was a small museum of the history of the station. Shortly after boarding we fell asleep for the night. We spent the next day on the train walking between our seats and the observation car. There is a lot of farmland in North Dakota and Montana. The views are beautiful.

At one point the train’s speakers turn on to broadcast a medical emergency. The train slowed and then stopped at a road junction to wait for an ambulance. Later that day we saw a couple we had spoken to in St Paul. The boy had just finished medical school and they were going on vacation to West Glacier. When the call went out, I was nervous to go help. Turns out it was a young guy who was feeling nauseous, went down to the bathroom and skipped the last step. He had a concussion and was going to need a lot of stitches.

About two hours before reaching East Glacier, the mountains began to come into view. They were big, beautiful and covered in snow! Unfortunately, the train was delayed by a larger, slower freight train. In the end we arrived an hour and a half late. Crazy Eyes, a Looking Glass host, drove to the train station to pick us up. He dropped us off at the Mexican restaurant and put our bags in the room. We finally arrived at the East Glacier!

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