The blister, the fluid-filled separation of the skin, the hot-spot on the heel at the kilometre 14, the day 2, the realisation that the boot that was the so comfortable in the shop is the instrument of the torture on the descent, is the thing that destroys the hiking holiday. The perfect hiking holiday is the planning that prevents the blister, and the blister prevention begins the months before the trail: the boot (the broken-in, the 50 km of the training walks, and the boot that is the half-size too large, the foot swells on the trail, and the swelled foot in the correctly-sized boot is the blister factory), the sock (the 2-sock system, the liner sock inside the outer sock, the friction is between the socks, not between the sock and the foot, the most important blister-prevention technique. The merino wool, the Icebreaker, the Smartwool, the £15–20 per pair, and the essential investment), and the “stop-at-the-hot-spot” rule (the moment the foot feels the heat or the rub, the boot and the sock come off, the blister plaster goes on, the Compeed, the essential, the £4 for the 5 plasters, and the best hiking invention of the 20th century). Here is how to set up the perfect hiking holiday.

Setting Up the Perfect Hiking Holiday

• The route, the essential European hikes: The essential European hiking holiday is the hut-to-hut trail in the Alps: the Tour du Mont Blanc (the 170 km, the 10–12 days, the France–Italy–Switzerland, the best multi-day hike in Europe. The huts: the Rifugio Elisabetta, the Italy, the view of the Glacier du Miage, the €50 for the half-board, the bunk, the dinner, the breakfast, and the best atmosphere on the entire Tour du Mont Blanc. The essential strategy: the July or the August for the snow-free, the booking of the huts the 6 months in advance, and the clockwise, the anti-clockwise is the busier). The alternative: the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites (the 120 km, the 10 days, the Italy, the most beautiful mountains in the world, the limestone, the towers, the vertical, and the via ferratas, the cable-protected routes that the World War I soldiers built for the movement and the supply). The essential Dolomites experience: the Rifugio Lagazuoi (the 2,752 metres, the cable car from the Falzarego Pass, the view of the Marmolada, and the best sunset on the Alta Via. ~€55 for the half-board). More travel tips →
• The kit and the training, the essential preparation: The pack: the 30–40 litres for the hut-to-hut (the luggage transfer is the unnecessary, the pack with the 2 changes of the clothes, the waterproof, the warm layer, and the wash kit should weigh the under the 8 kg). The essential kit: the waterproof (the jacket and the trousers, the Gore-Tex, the £100–200, and the essential. The Alps rain is the cold and the wet, and the waterproof is the difference between the hypothermia and the good day), the walking poles (the essential for the Alps, the knees on the descents, the stability, and the best £30 you will spend on the hiking), the head torch (the hut-to-hut, the essential for the midnight toilet, the reading, and the alpine starts: the 4am departure to reach the pass before the afternoon thunderstorm), and the training (the essential: the 10–12 weeks of the training, the 3–4 walks per week, the 10–15 km with the pack, and the hill ascent of the 1,000 metres per the week by the end of the training)