Glacier National Park (July3-18) Part 2: Amtrack-Washington D.C. to Chicago

On July 3rd, My parents drove me through the chaotic streets of Washington D.C. and dropped me off at Union Station where I planned to take the Amtrack. My route would take me from Washington D.C. all the way to Glacier National Park in East Glacier. We were running a little behind and I only had a few minutes to spare. I always feel a little strange with my hiking backpack in the city. Once in the train station, the scene became more chaotic with people everywhere moving in every direction. Most train stops I've been to are very simple. Usually one train heading in one direction. This was a little more like a small airport. My mind was not in travel mode yet so I had a hard time processing all the information bombarding my senses. Fortunately, I got into the right line just by chance, and a few minutes later, we were boarding our train.

I've had some great train rides in the past, which is why I still choose to do it I guess. Train rides are social affairs. There is plenty of room to walk around, get up and use the bathroom, and assigned seats have plenty of leg room. The lounge car has always been my favorite with large windows to enjoy the scenery. I'm not the most social person in the world, but it's always nice to meet new people on the train. It's not like airplanes where you can get by with not saying a word to anybody if you don't feel like it. On the train, you become "companions on the journey" so to speak, and conversation often occurs naturally as a result.

As soon as my tickets were checked, I walked to the lounge car. The stress of making the train on time began to melt away. A few minutes later, an older man asked,
 "Is this seat taken?" Pointing to a seat next to me.
"Nope," I replied.
"Hi, my name is Mike. Where are you headed?"
I told him about my plans to hike in Glacier National Park. Mike was a Morman accountant and was heading to Utah to visit family for a week. We continued to chat as the scenery unfolded around us. Highlights for me was seeing the Potomac River, C&O bike path, Harpers Ferry complete with what appeared to be an Appalachian Trail thru hiker taking a nap on the bench outside the train station. The lounge car began to fill up and conversations ignited all around us.

As evening approached, the train began to fall behind schedule. A few minutes here, a few minutes there. I didn't mind because I had a 6 hour layover in Chicago, before catching another train called the Empire Builder, west. By midnight, the train came to a complete halt. I was still in the lounge car, beginning to doze off and on into sleep. One passenger had unrolled a sleeping bag, and was completely horizontal in the corner of the lounge car, fast asleep.
"That guy is a genius," I thought to myself.
The train was not moving anywhere and then I realized how cold it was in the lounge car. I could feel the tip of my nose losing it's heat and wrapped myself in my rain jacket. Soon other passengers that were still in the lounge car began to sprawl across the remaining seats, trying to catch some z's. I decided to give the floor a chance, since it was apparent the Amtrack staff was not going to send us back to our seats which they sometimes do. It was too cold though, and could feel the AC blowing onto me from below. It was going to be a long, sleepless night.

The train finally began to move four hours later. Later we learned the cause of the delay was a fallen tree across the tracks in West Virginia, and break maintenance on the train as a result of hitting the tree. By the time the sun came up, the lounge car began to fill up once again. The guy in the sleeping bag in the corner woke up, yawned and stretched, packed away his sleeping bag, and returned to his assigned seat in another car. He probably had the best sleep of anybody on the train. I walked downstairs to the café car and ordered a coffee. I was going to need it. The conversation in the lounge car shifted to the delay. How far behind schedule were we? Would we be able to make our connecting trains? Mike had to catch a train to Utah via Chicago, and as things stood, he would just be able to make the transfer. I learned several other passengers were also heading west on the Empire Builder, and we had about an hour of wiggle room remaining to make our transfer in Chicago. The train still seemed to be moving at an excruciating slow pace, stuck behind freight train traffic which has the right of way on the rail lines.

Suddenly near Cleveland Ohio, the train stopped again. A groan let out amongst the passengers. 5 minutes passed, 10 minutes, 30 minutes. Finally after an hour we began moving. Rumors swirled amongst the passengers. Suposedly a pedestrian was struck by a freight train. Someone mentioned a protester. I still don't really know what happened. The Amtrack conductor came over the loud speaker and apologized for the delays and the "unfortunate incident." As the day progressed, it was clear we were now in a race against the clock. Those of us who had to catch the Empire Builder formed a small team and began calling the Amtrack hot line asking whether or not they could hold our transferring train for us. Many of us had places to be obviously, and schedules to maintain. One young woman named Kara was trying to make a wedding in Seattle. She began to lead the charge, encouraging other passengers to call and see what our options were.

The country side began to transform into an urban landscape. Finally we got word from Amtrack that they could not hold the train and we would be missing our transfer. Mile also was going to miss his train to Utah. We would all have to report to the customer service station in the Great Hall to see what to do from there. The landscape outside turned into an industrial wasteland and we could see the Chicago skyline off in the distance and one of the Great Lakes to the north. We pulled into Chicago 45 minutes too late to make our connecting train, almost 7 hours late total. Having only a limited amount of time in Glacier, I was disappointed to lose an entire day. Like they say, when life serves you lemons, make lemonade. It was the 4th of July in Chicago, the night at least held some promise...