An Unbelievable 60 Hours

After all our very careful, calculated planning of what to pack, it all got, as Greg says, “flushed down the toilet!” If the pandemic taught us anything, it is that we have to be really flexible and fluid! The best laid plans . . . 

It all started in Minneapolis when the pilot announced there were some “mechanical difficulties” after the entire plane was loaded. 😆 Two and a half hours later, we were underway, but we were pretty sure we might miss our connection in Paris. When we arrived in Paris at 8:30 am, the soonest flight we could get on to Geneva was 9 pm. So, we spent almost 12 hours in the Paris airport. Luckily, due to Tom and Chanda’s perks, we were able to stay in a lovely lounge and start tasting all kinds of good French food. But once we finally arrived in Geneva at 10:30 pm, things took a turn when Greg and Betsy’s duffel bags with their backpacks, poles, and hiking boots didn’t show up. After watching the baggage conveyor for almost 30 minutes, we had that sinking feeling. So we filed a missing luggage report and then took our shuttle to Chamonix arriving at about 12:30 am. 

The next morning through noon, Air France had not even located our luggage,  so we started having some serious discussion about what to do as we were leaving for the first stage of hiking at 7:30 am the next morning. After much encouragement from our friends, we made a list of what we’d absolutely have to have for hiking (we’re talking real minimalists now) and all took the bus to Chamonix where we spent then afternoon power shopping. We decided we’d figure it out with the travel insurance later as the alternative of not hiking wasn’t something we would consider. 

After getting two packs, two sets of hiking boots and poles and a second set of clothing for us each, we went back to drop our purchases off. We then learned late in the day they had located our bags in Paris and were shipping them to Geneva. 

We then spent quite a bit of time at dinner discussing what to do - did Greg and Betsy stay back, hope the bags got delivered to Chamonix in a day or two and then try to catch up with our group? Meanwhile, we would return all our purchases? But since we would have to find someplace to stay and we really weren’t sure when the bags would show up, we decided to “call an audible” and just proceed with leaving tomorrow with our new gear. We would then tell the airlines to deliver our bags to our last stop and end up taking all the stuff home. 

Once we made the decision, we all got into a flurry of washing, packing, and getting ready to leave early tomorrow morning. I’m already missing several items from my original “lighter packing job,” but if successful, we will really experience “going as light as possible.” Along the way, our wonderful friends have offered to share things such as power cords and adapters along with giving us so much help and encouragement today. This hike is really a team effort!