What you also need as a group is a plan. What will you do if someone gets hurt and unable to hike? What will you do if someone gets separated?

I cannot tell you how many times I have come across someone out there looking for a lost member of the group. This is very, very important, especially if you are shariing gear. On all my group trips where there are folks coming with us for the first time, we expect everyone to pack as if going solo. There is nothingmore frustrating than telling people "you MUST have a bear can" and two people show up without one. And if someone proves to be much slower and just decides to stay two miles back due to a bum knee, and you have half the tent wiothout poles in the rain?