go for a triple
I toured last year on a Felt f-65
Nice bike, but it's a road/performance lycra speedster bike (I was romanced by the great closeout price and the cachet of Ultegra and 'under 20 pounds' and CF forks. it was not quite a compact but by the end of the week of riding, I was half shot. The hills were a chore that I gladly accepted, but over the long haul, a triple with a few hill gears woulda made the whole deal more fun.

I now have a Jamis Aurora from a few years back with a nice granny gear and it's sweet to drop that baby on the steep hills and just spin easy