I never said we'd ignore the fact of someone not showing up to camp. We're all responsible for ourselves, that doesn't mean we don't care about anyone else. Jeez. Of course we'd go looking if someone didn't show up at camp within an hour of the last person to arrive. And yes, we hike far apart on occasion (far apart meaning up to half an hour). We generally all gather for lunch, so there's often a meeting up of sorts at the half-day point. And everybody isn't always simply by themselves, only those people who want to be, we all simply hike at our own pace -- sometimes that means together, sometimes not.

We also all agree that if any of us goes off into the woods for a potty break, that person leaves their pack on the side of the trail that they went into the woods on. And when we hike like this, we hike on established trails, no cross country/bushwhacking.

So it's not a group, I don't care what you call it. A bunch of individuals who hike alone but camp together. Whatever. It's what we enjoy.