We're glad we could help. Keep asking questions - one thing we have is lots of answers.

One last story about the group trips I help lead. (That's important - remember I'm an assistant, and not the group leader. )

Last summer (2018) we were doing a beginner course; it was actually the one I described elsewhere, where I evacuated the overweight person with heat exhaustion. I mentioned I was walking "trail" (last in line), as I usually do. What I didn't mention is that, at the lunch stop, when I took my person out at the bailout point, neither I nor the group leader told the other assistant leader that she was now walking trail. (She had been walking near the center of the group; we were spread out about a quarter to half mile along the trail.)

Anyhow, when the main party joined me at the evening camp (where I had taken my participant), the group leader got a call on his cell phone: from one of the participants, who had been accidentally left behind at the lunch stop. (She had gone to use the outhouse, and no one noticed that there was a pack sitting on the picnic table when the group left. Remember, the other assistant didn't realize she was walking trail? Trail is always the one who checks to make sure everyone is there, and I would have caught the extra pack.)

The lone participant tried to navigate to catch up, but eventually turned back when she didn't know which trail to follow at an intersection. (Did I also mention that the only ones with maps were the 3 leaders?)

In the end, no long-term damage done: the group leader took the car from the evening camp and drove back to pick her up at the lunch stop, brought her back, and she enjoyed the rest of the weekend (of course, the leader refunded her class fee.)

Lessons learned:
1. If one of the leaders has to leave the trip, make sure the others know what roles they need to take on to cover.
2. At the beginning of each trip, assign each participant a "buddy"; the participant is responsible to make sure his or her buddy is with the group when it leaves a stopping place. (You may need to re-assign buddies during the trip if their hiking paces differ greatly.)
3. Give everyone a map (they're free at the park we use), and point out clearly our destination and what trail(s) we're following. (You can include some map-and-compass and trail navigation basics, too.) Update them on our location at each rest stop.

And we'd been doing this for a lot of years. Just goes to show that mistakes aren't only made by new leaders.