Biggest group hike I've been on involved 8 hikers. We had walkie-talkies at the front and back and re-grouped at breaks. Was a lot of fun.

Typically there are three of us and one or two dogs. That's about right.

Safety aside, solo hiking holds no appeal to me.

Met a woman last summer at the campground who had just come off the AT from her first night backpacking alone. She'd planned for a long while to do the Shenandoah National Park portion of the AT. Her family dropped her off and she spent the night in her hammock-tent.

She said she was so creeped out by the experience she was going back to car camping and day hikes.

I gave her a lot of credit for even attempting that trek.