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> for example the Empire Builder stops at East Glacier in Montana from spring to fall - extremely small town with wonderful hiking, etc. The southern border of

by shagie 4y ago

> for example the Empire Builder stops at East Glacier in Montana from spring to fall - extremely small town with wonderful hiking, etc. The southern border of Glacier NP is the railroad. https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/education/railway.htm https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/education/railway.htm So, in 1891, the continental divide finally was crossed and the rail barrons were trying to get people to use the railroad. They saw people taking steamships out from NYC to Europe to go see the Alps, and, well, they knew a thing or two about mountains, now too. So the Great Northern Railroad petitioned Congress to make a park in the area that the trains would service. In addition to the park proper, a number Swiss style chalets were built through the park that were approximately 1 day horse ride apart from each other. With this setup, you could take the train to East Glacier or West Glacier, go hose back riding through the mountains, and then get back on the train on the other side and go home. While many of these chalets have been lost to time, some still exist and are maintained - https://www.nplas.org/sperry.html https://www.nplas.org/sperry.html https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2018-06-06/funding-secured-to-rebuild-glaciers-sperry-chalet https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2018-06-06/funding-secured...

bombcar 4y ago
Yeah, some of the most scenic landscape can be found crossing the Rockies.
secabeen 4y ago
> you could take the train to East Glacier or West Glacier Be careful with this idea; East Glacier train station is not actually in the park, and services at that station are limited (West Glacier even more so). It's possible to rent a car at East Glacier, but I expect it would be expensive. You can walk from the train station to a hotel, then be based out of there, but you will be dependent on the shuttle and bus services to explore the park. Some good details about the current situation in this thread; note that services have changed a lot around COVID, and any information from pre-2019 should be considered as out of date, and not reliable: https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/need-advice-for-short-empire-builder-glacier-national-park-trip.81657/ https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/need-advice-for-short-e...
- bombcar 4y ago
  If you like hiking, you can technically hike from town into the park - I've done it even with snow still on the ground. But depending on what you want to do in the area, you will want to plan ahead.
Fiahil 4y ago
> While many of these chalets have been lost to time How can you loose something, less than 200 years old, to time ?!
- bobthepanda 4y ago
  Weather in the area isn’t a walk in the park, and I would assume the cabins are wood.
  - Fiahil 4y ago
    So does 'original' swiss chalets, yet, many of them are much older than that.
    - shagie 4y ago
      Many of those weren't abandoned for half a decade in the 40s.
- irrational 4y ago
  My family has property in western Montana. There are cabins there that were built in the 1920s that are almost completely disintegrated. And that is just 100 years. This is an area that typically gets an enormous amount of snow in the winter (like 6-7 meters deep) that will completely crush a building if someone is not maintaining it all winter.
  - chrisseaton 4y ago
    I think if something is from a recent as 1920 it’s just been poorly maintained, not ‘lost to time’.
    - pessimizer 4y ago
      I don't understand the distinction. If anything is now gone and wasn't destroyed in an unpreventable disaster or purposefully, it was "poorly maintained." Doesn't matter if it is 100 years old or 10,000 years old.
j7ake 4y ago
How do you take a cross country train and stop at Montana to do hiking ? Won’t your train and all your stuff on the train have left by the time you finished your hike ? I imagine the train only stops for half an hour or so for long breaks…
- tantalor 4y ago
  1. Disembark with your stuff 2. Hike (leave extra stuff in storage) 3. Take the next train
- gumby 4y ago
  No different from flying: you disembark and then catch a later train, likely a few days later.
- chrisseaton 4y ago
  > Won’t your train and all your stuff on the train …well you take your luggage off the train. Is that really what you were asking?
- shagie 4y ago
  This is a "I've thought about this"... Take the Empire Builder to Essex. https://www.amtrak.com/stations/esm.html https://www.amtrak.com/stations/esm.html At Essex (7:41 pm), disembark, get a room at the Izaak Walton Inn - https://www.google.com/maps/@48.2787345,-113.6113756,3a,75y,324.95h,83.57t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNjuyxuxw2dN7x0-cHiX4WjrMXs3bPADIwhDrZW!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNjuyxuxw2dN7x0-cHiX4WjrMXs3bPADIwhDrZW%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya223.52824-ro-0-fo100!7i13000!8i6500 https://www.google.com/maps/@48.2787345,-113.6113756,3a,75y,... Spend the following day hiking ( https://www.google.com/maps/dir/48.2784604,-113.6118791/48.3000825,-113.574568/@48.2867514,-113.6105746,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!4m1!3e2 https://www.google.com/maps/dir/48.2784604,-113.6118791/48.3... ) Return to the town, have dinner, get on the train (at 7:41 pm) and continue on. This becomes much easier with a rail pass: https://media.amtrak.com/2022/03/for-a-limited-time-amtrak-offers-usa-rail-pass-for-399/ https://media.amtrak.com/2022/03/for-a-limited-time-amtrak-o... / https://www.amtrak.com/USARailPass https://www.amtrak.com/USARailPass

by shagie 4y ago

bombcar 4y ago

Yeah, some of the most scenic landscape can be found crossing the Rockies.

secabeen 4y ago

> you could take the train to East Glacier or West Glacier Be careful with this idea; East Glacier train station is not actually in the park, and services at that station are limited (West Glacier even more so). It's possible to rent a car at East Glacier, but I expect it would be expensive. You can walk from the train station to a hotel, then be based out of there, but you will be dependent on the shuttle and bus services to explore the park. Some good details about the current situation in this thread; note that services have changed a lot around COVID, and any information from pre-2019 should be considered as out of date, and not reliable: https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/need-advice-for-short-empire-builder-glacier-national-park-trip.81657/ https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/need-advice-for-short-e...

bombcar 4y ago
If you like hiking, you can technically hike from town into the park - I've done it even with snow still on the ground. But depending on what you want to do in the area, you will want to plan ahead.

Fiahil 4y ago

> While many of these chalets have been lost to time How can you loose something, less than 200 years old, to time ?!

bobthepanda 4y ago
Weather in the area isn’t a walk in the park, and I would assume the cabins are wood.
- Fiahil 4y ago
  So does 'original' swiss chalets, yet, many of them are much older than that.
  - shagie 4y ago
    Many of those weren't abandoned for half a decade in the 40s.
irrational 4y ago
My family has property in western Montana. There are cabins there that were built in the 1920s that are almost completely disintegrated. And that is just 100 years. This is an area that typically gets an enormous amount of snow in the winter (like 6-7 meters deep) that will completely crush a building if someone is not maintaining it all winter.
- chrisseaton 4y ago
  I think if something is from a recent as 1920 it’s just been poorly maintained, not ‘lost to time’.
  - pessimizer 4y ago
    I don't understand the distinction. If anything is now gone and wasn't destroyed in an unpreventable disaster or purposefully, it was "poorly maintained." Doesn't matter if it is 100 years old or 10,000 years old.

j7ake 4y ago

How do you take a cross country train and stop at Montana to do hiking ? Won’t your train and all your stuff on the train have left by the time you finished your hike ? I imagine the train only stops for half an hour or so for long breaks…

tantalor 4y ago
1. Disembark with your stuff 2. Hike (leave extra stuff in storage) 3. Take the next train
gumby 4y ago
No different from flying: you disembark and then catch a later train, likely a few days later.
chrisseaton 4y ago
> Won’t your train and all your stuff on the train …well you take your luggage off the train. Is that really what you were asking?
shagie 4y ago
This is a "I've thought about this"... Take the Empire Builder to Essex. https://www.amtrak.com/stations/esm.html https://www.amtrak.com/stations/esm.html At Essex (7:41 pm), disembark, get a room at the Izaak Walton Inn - https://www.google.com/maps/@48.2787345,-113.6113756,3a,75y,324.95h,83.57t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNjuyxuxw2dN7x0-cHiX4WjrMXs3bPADIwhDrZW!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNjuyxuxw2dN7x0-cHiX4WjrMXs3bPADIwhDrZW%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya223.52824-ro-0-fo100!7i13000!8i6500 https://www.google.com/maps/@48.2787345,-113.6113756,3a,75y,... Spend the following day hiking ( https://www.google.com/maps/dir/48.2784604,-113.6118791/48.3000825,-113.574568/@48.2867514,-113.6105746,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!4m1!3e2 https://www.google.com/maps/dir/48.2784604,-113.6118791/48.3... ) Return to the town, have dinner, get on the train (at 7:41 pm) and continue on. This becomes much easier with a rail pass: https://media.amtrak.com/2022/03/for-a-limited-time-amtrak-offers-usa-rail-pass-for-399/ https://media.amtrak.com/2022/03/for-a-limited-time-amtrak-o... / https://www.amtrak.com/USARailPass https://www.amtrak.com/USARailPass