To reply to balzacom comments - There is the right way, the worng way, and the military way. "Camping" as done by the military, and team building is totally different from those similar enterprises as carried out in most civilian contexts. My time in the army was among the most depressing and unproductive times of my life. The teamwork I have experienced in SAR are some of the most profound, and cherished, times of my life.

There are no guarantees that teamwork will develop within a group. For some of the situations we are describing, we are not talking about a group, but simply a collection of solo hikers. In a functioning group, individuals contribute their talents and their abilities, often achieving astounding and gratifying results. We have touched on this in some of our solo hiking threads.


In my career as an NPS archaeologist, I have seen "non-teamwork" and some pretty good teamwork, but nothing to match what I have experienced in SAR, probably because in SAR the stakes are pretty high.