As I said, REI is a "luxury tour" more than a hike. It did involve hiking about 90 miles, but included a lot more than hiking. If one is on a tight budget, REI isn't the way to go, but if one has the resources REI turns a hike into an "adventure." I will share just one example. on one of the days, we had lunch with a Count in his country mansion. We got a taste of what it is like to be royalty in Portugal. One doesn't get that kind of experience on a mere hike.