In early autumn, the four of us who were new to long-distance hiking climbed the highest mountain in Europe. (On the first day, large birds of prey circled overhead. I think they were vultures waiting for one of us to descend.)
The Tour du Mont Blanc is a 100 mile walk, but we cheated a bit by walking 60 miles from hut to hut over six days, taking local buses and a "daily Sherpa service". Bag. France, Italy and throughout Switzerland from Chamonix to Chamonix.
It was our first time enjoying a bit of Europe with my friend Shelly, and we met up with Sue and David from Minnesota. (I worked with David Preston at TPT - Twin Cities PBS for 20 years. He is considered an "engagement guru" in the public television world.)
Every day we walked, as the road signs said, a five-hour walk, which took us six or seven hours. Our mantra: “Let's take our time. That's why we're here." Typically, the day begins with a 3,000-foot climb to a pass (or "column") 8,000 feet above sea level, with spectacular views and congratulatory selfies.
Part of the training before the trip was the hard walks on the way home. A typical day climb on the TMB is a thousand meters (or 3,000 feet), so I recommend choosing a practice hike above 3,000 feet so you can climb as a benchmark. Our route in Washington State was the Mountain Sea Route. We even had a term for the 3,000 foot peak, "Mount Si."
