UKC

Hi,

I walked the coast to coast solo last year. Campsite to campsite, but my luggage transported.

This year I would like to do something similar in Europe and would like your ideas. Keeping in mind:

- Not too remote. I walk solo, and would want to meet others regularly

- I can carry about 6kg so am thinking a hut to hut hike would be an option, or otherwise a long-distance trail with the option of luggage transport (typically available on well-known trails)

- I loved the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites, but it turns out huts need to be booked in January!! and are all full now

- I only have August available, and it can get very hot in August in a large part of Europe, which won't work for me. So it would either be higher mountains or a cooler part of Europe

Any ideas where there might still be space?

Tour Du Mont Blanc would be an obvious choice.

A section of the GR5 in the French Alps ?

The Haute Route Pyrenees might be worth a look. Beautiful mountains, nice huts, relatively easy to get to. The route described in the cicerone has a mix of manned huts, unmanned huts and bivis, but you could probably pick a section that's properly hut-to-hut. There are normally enough people around that the huts feel sociable, but it feels a bit less ruthlessly exploited than (eg) the Mont Blanc area.

There are plenty of other long distance paths in the Alps - Alta Via 2, Adlerweg, Lechtaler Hohenweg, Karnische Hohenweg, E4, E4 alpin, Maximilliansweg, E5 etc.   The E paths tend to have high variations in the alps known as the 'alpin' versions - so whereas the E4 will go through valleys to get from town A to town B, the 'E4 alpin' will go along ridges, over passes and even take in easy VF sections to get between the same towns.

https://www-alpenverein-at.translate.goog/weitwanderer/weitwanderwege/fernw...

The Santiago di Compostela has options running through the Alps too. Might suffer busy accommodation, but it tends to go through valleys so less of a problem.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago

Or you make up your own - pick a start point, end point and use Komoot or googlemaps. Or pick parts of the long distance paths and join them up.  When planning my own shorter routes I've noticed that the long distance paths don't always go 'the best way' between places.

https://www.era-ewv-ferp.org/e-paths/

August is Italian holiday season, so you might have more chance of hut space in Austria and Germany than Italy. Good luck!