I meet my friend at Zermatt Station - I am not able to arrive until 4pm, meaning we have 4 hours of daylight and 3.5 hours to make dinner.
I had flown into Milan, Italy which was the closest airport to Zermatt, and far and away the least expensive train journey into Zermatt at roughly US$80 for my last minute purchase. Unfortunately the Italian trains are not as efficient as the Swiss trains on this day and I am delayed by an hour. The train ride is something of a destination experience in itself - huge windows looking out on classic Swiss villages clinging to the edge of steep valleys that drop down to a raging rivers far below.
So we set out on our adventure in high spirits but in some haste - buying only a loaf of bread, lunch meat, a tube of mustard, grapes and cookies to survive in the Alps. In fact I only am carrying a medium-sized daypack for the entire 4-day mountain trek (one cannot really call this backpacking I suppose).
About the point that I am starting to get a bit concerned, we spot a Swiss flag in the distance and rounding a bend we see a humble looking hut through the rain that much to our delight turns out to be Hotel Trift.
The storm makes the arrival at the Hotel Trift a major triumph. We step off the dark wet trail into the most welcoming scene imaginable.