Assuming some of you have tried or regularly hike in groups, what have you learned from the experience, either good or bad?
Reading this a second time what I’ve learned, which is both good and bad, is there are times to leave folk alone.
On our 1st and 3rd Friday walks we are all of equal ability and, importantly, similarly equipped. The result is we all walk together, at most 10-20 metres apart, often swapping pairs to chat.
On the walks with three couples the ability range and kit is quite wide. One person in particular seems to me to dress inadequately and needs better footwear. When he’s had enough he’ll stride ahead looking to finish the walk ASAP. Equally two of the ladies walk more slowly, lagging behind by 2-300 or more metres. The secret to success is to be aware of but largely ignore these choices, keep everyone in sight and walk at one’s own pace while regrouping from time to time.
To use the cycling comparison again it’s like the regroup at the top of a long, hard climb. No one gets dropped.