Words provided by TJ David

Forty hours stood between Union Station in Chicago, Illinois and our first destination, West Glacier, Montana and boy was our team excited to be inside. Record-breaking cold weather had set in across the western plains. Stops along the line in towns like Fargo, North Dakota, were marked with images of passengers stricken by the biting cold, faces wrapped in scarves to protect already wind burned features. In contrast, we watched while wearing shorts and t-shirts from the comfort of our train cars. Enjoying PBR beers, chatting aimlessly and passing the time with trips to the observatory car to take in the western planes and long lunches in the dining car. If it were not for the wind, none of us would have noticed the cold weather outside the train.

A text from Greg Fortin of Glacier Adventure Guides, brought us back to reality. News of twenty new inches of snow in Glacier National Park brought a revitalized focus throughout the team and we began making arrangements for the days the come. We planned to spend A day of touring above the Izaak Walton Inn, bordering Glacier National Park in a zone Greg said would offer some of the unique features our team was searching for. He also suggested a second day above Coal Creek in an old burn, a zone with amazing contrast between new and old growth forest as well as the potential to offer some incredible tree skiing. As we patiently awaited our early morning arrival with the first stop of our trip in West Glacier, Montana, we couldn’t help but pass the time daydreaming of what was to come.

[juicebox gallery_id=”184″]

Related: Four rippers chase the dream in Storm Cycles: Railroaded with Amtrak