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Comment by bbarn | Hacker News Reader

I hike at least 2-3 times a week, over what I'd consider difficult to the point of being just under needing specialized equipment or training to do. I often bring newcomers with me. There are many times me going ahead a bit to scout the trail and judge the impact of recent weather, etc. and waiting to guide others over technical parts is the smartest play for everyone.

Phrases like "full stop" make it sound like you have no room to question your own assertions, when in fact there are enough people with contrary opinions that it might help you to do so.

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I want to make this distinction because I don't think it's obvious to a lot of people reading. You're not talking about leaving the newcomers to fend for themselves because you want to "feel the burn". You're talking about using your experience to make tactical decisions about the route, which may involve periods of separation. And you have the experience to weigh the risk of separating to scout against the risk of staying together and potentially bringing the whole group into terrain you're not prepared for. You're not just leaving them behind because they're going slower than you would prefer.

Yes. Scouting ahead of a group to find best path because you are more experienced is not selfish. It is the opposite of what the article author is peddling.

> There are many times me going ahead a bit to scout the trail and judge the impact of recent weather

I'm curious what you need to judge in advance that's worth getting beyond line-of-site of "newcomers"? I suppose if you're preparing routes which take time this makes sense but I'm struggling to think of examples.

Things change awfully quick and it's a nightmare when you lose a group member and have a vast and potentially densely foliaged area to search with rescue teams many hours from responding.

As long as everyone's aware of the situation and properly prepared then it's certainly their choice to make.

The mountains I climb nearby can have the trails erased or dramatically altered by rainfall. The marked route can become dangerous when going slightly off trail can be entirely safe.

We also don't have "foliage" in Iceland :)

Wouldn't it make sense to take the group along and have everyone turn around when it is impassable? Is the scouting because the group is physically incapable of going the extra distance when route finding is needed?

From my limited experience with Iceland's terrain I think I'd be worried about "newcomers" behind me losing the trail so I think I'd be even more wary but perhaps it depends on the group, equipment, etc. While there isn't much dense foliage out here in the Rocky Mountains I've seen many people get separated even in alpine terrain. Especially in boulder fields where groups routinely get separated and I've seen several called for rescue independently after searching for hours.

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