The Exodus Itinerary states "In the evening there is an introductory briefing by your leader", but first Lisa and I need to get from Annecy to Chamonix.
We started our last day in Annecy finding the best croissant available which was Le Peche Mignion and it was wonderful!
Afterwards, I went out to mail a postcard, came back to finish packing and headed over to the station. My duffle was amazingly heavy and the shoulder strap pulled the duffle ring out after about 10 minutes of walking. Not good for the start of the journey when I'm going to need this bag for the net 15 days. Lisa had a good idea - to try to pin it together vs. sew it.
We get to the station in good time for the train. I was a bit concerned I lost Lisa to the bathroom monster when she went and disappeared for about 10 minutes.
Everything went well on the first of three trains to Chamonix. The second train was delayed by about 7 minutes and we only had 12 minutes total between the second and third. Turns out the third train was on the same platform and we made it without issue. The third train was a bit different to the other two. It seemed to be a sort of special train to bring tourists up to the higher elevation towns for skiing and had "observatory-type" windows into the ceiling. The train was packed and we almost didn't find seats or a place for our luggage. As we went along Month Blanc and her sisters opened up to us.
We got off at first Chamonix stop and walked the 5 minutes over to the Hotel Richemond and checked in. Our room was thankfully bigger than I anticipated:)
Chamonix was hopping because of the UTMB finish - from 22-28 August, 2022 the ultimate trail running race occurred and the winner came in as we came into town on 27 August.
We went into town for lunch and I finally had some french fries which were pretty good.
Turns out my ripped back was a harbinger of things to come. Our guide seems to have some issues and wasn't welcoming. Before dinner we had our initial briefing which was rather bizarre and am not too sure of the group. Any time someone starts with "what is our pace going to be", I get concerned. We are 12 plus the guide:
Shaun Rhodes is our guide and originally from S. Africa
Karrie and Joanne are from Brisbane, Australia. They have known each other a long time and are both married to Englishmen. Karrie works at a media company, Jo is married to a man who represents sports stars.
Vena Weis, also from Australia, whose family manufactured Weis ice cream bars.
Anne/Chris are from Canada. He is an engineer
Peter is from Minnesota and now retired from the Foreign Service. He was posted to Russia and the "Stans" and speaks Russian and worked in the visa and cultural department. He had a lot of interesting stories to tell on the trail.
Jen/Tim are from Montana. She came on very strong at the beginning, but by the end of the trip these were two of my favorite people. Very loving and positive.
Louise is from Essex and "executive consultant" doing things at charities. Single mother of a 30 year old son. Our slowest walker and probably the most difficult to be around. We even found a way to communicate with her by the end of the trek.
Sue is from Washington state and a retired doctor. We walked at a similar pace and were enjoyable walking buddies.
Lisa and I.
There was no safety lecture, but the weather was looking good for the next day. We were reminded to bring waterproofs and a warm top and a brimmed hat for the sun. Water appears to be good right from the tap. Breakfast at 7:30 with pack and be ready to go at 8:30.
Dinner that night was very bizarre. I didn't get the name of the restaurant, but we were served steak tartare with a raw egg - doubtless a local specialty, but a bold offering to those from the US or UK.
Lisa and I got our routines started and no snoring! Ready for the first hiking!
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