Fitpacking: The week that was

Fitpacking has 2 concurrent Trips scheduled for Sat Feb 21-28.

• Trip 1: Cumberland Island, GA guided by Guide A & Guide B
• Trip 2: Big Bend, TX guided by Guide C & Guide D

Tuesday 2/17

Trip 1 has less than 4 participants, necessitating only 1 guide.  I hate to do it, but guide B isn’t needed and is freed up to do something else during the trip.  Trip 2 still has 4 participants and 2 guides.

Friday 2/20

At around 6:30AM I receive a message from a participant on Trip 2 whose brother died suddenly.  Participant withdraws from trip. 

Guide C is already on a flight to Midland, TX.  Guide D’s flight won’t leave for another 6 hours.

As there are only 3 participants, only 1 guide is needed.  I contact Guide D and we agree that Guide D will cancel their trip at the last minute.  Because the airline ticket is Southwest, it is changed to another trip they’re guiding later in the year.

Saturday 2/21

Just after midnight, Guide C gets violently ill.  Vomiting, diarrhea, fever and chills.  I don’t receive the message until around 6AM. 

I contact Guide C who confirms that guiding seems impossible given the way they feel.

I immediately contact Guide D to see if they can drop everything and guide the trip after all.  Guide D is now no longer available because care of dependents has been canceled.

I contact Guide B to see if they are available.  They have already scheduled their time and are unable to guide.

I contact Guide C who has attempted to leave the hotel twice but could not and returned to their room.

I have some Frequent Flyer miles and book myself on a flight to Midland for Sunday 2/22.

I also book a flight for Guide C back home for Sunday 2/22.  I will arrive a few hours before Guide C goes home.

Participants arrive and Guide C somehow finds the reserves to do all the Day 1 stuff with participants.

Sunday 2/22

At 4AM, I leave home for the airport.  My flight arrives at DFW in plenty of time to make my 11:30AM flight to Midland.

At around 11AM I board the plane. 

At around 11:30AM, we are told to de-plane as there is no captain.

At around Noon, a captain arrives and we re-board the plane.

At around 12:30, we are on the runway ready to take-off and the captain announces a mechanical issue.  We go back to the gate and de-plane again.

At around 1PM, my flight is cancelled.  We are all told to get in a line snaking down the hall containing easily 100 people.

While in line, I call the airline and am re-booked on a flight that leaves at 6:20PM, which is after Guide C is scheduled to depart Midland, so unfortunately I won’t see them.

The very patient participants have already been in Midland for over 24 hours and Big Bend is still a 4 hour drive away.

There is a flight that goes to Midland at around 4:30PM so I try to stand-by on it.  I do not get on it but they tell me that my bag might be waiting for me in Midland when I finally arrive.

Guide C calls and says their flight home has been canceled.  Guide C rebooks for 1PM the next day, Mon 2/23

At around 5PM, my flight is canceled.  I am told that because of ice storms in North Texas, the earliest they can book me is Wednesday, 2/25.  I am now unable to guide the trip.

DFW is cancelling all sorts of flights for the next few days but I’m told that I can get on the last trip back to Boston at 7:15PM, so I book that since the next available flight to Boston is on Wednesday.

Guide C is feeling somewhat better and has to be there another day anyway.  Guide C says they will guide the trip.  Over the phone we re-structure the trip to make the first day of hiking less strenuous as strength returns.

Guide C cancels their flight back home.

At around 6:30PM, Guide C gathers the group and starts the 4 hour drive to Big Bend. 

At 7:30PM I am on the runway ready to take off and they turn my plane around to get de-iced. Uh oh.

Fortunately, this seems to work and we take off.  I arrive in Boston an hour late.

My backpack does not arrive.  I stand in line to check on this and they tell me that my bag is in Midland, but they’ll send it back.

I have no idea why I’m being so anonymous about the guides’ names.