[Luc]

I've only experienced this a few times over many years of backpacking. I'm not talking about contention that more commonly occurs between romantic partners on the trail ("why did you say it that way?") or with other hiking parties ignoring the rules, but rather specifically on the topic of hiking logistics. For me the most common (again, very infrequent) are about itineraries ("I thought this was going to be mostly downhill") or foodstuffs ("I thought I wouldn't want any coffee, but now I do.") I'm usually not the instigator in these interactions....but I'm sure I've contributed. Anyone have any stories to tell?

[Bootpathguy]

[Cyclopath]

[solohiker]

Everything thing bootpathguy says, except the water. Don’t mind sharing water with anyone (or dog) that needs it. I’ve given it to strangers on the trail multiple times. Just refill at every opportunity.

[Randito]

There are many factors that affect how well a group enjoys each other's company on a trip. * How well the goals of the trip are communicated, understood and agreed upon. * How well the various partners are matched in term of fitness, skill level, discomfort tolerance and risk tolerance. * The degree to which the trip requires interdependancy or allows independance. * The ability of various partners to discuss issues as they arise in a constructive manner. * The degree to which various responsibilities and decisions are shared equitably. * The quality and quanity of food shared by the group. It is possible that folks that are widely different can have an enjoyable shared trip -- but to do this they need to understand their differences clearly and treat those differences with respect and be able to be committed to making the trip enjoyable for all vs doing the trip perfectly suited to their taste.

[Bootpathguy]

[cdestroyer]

I'm with bootpathguy!

[treeswarper]

I always had to listen to my dog whine most of the way at me to hurry up as we headed back to the trailhead. I think he was a bit of a homebody, but seemed to enjoy hiking for a while. Maybe he worried that he was going to miss his mealtime?

[Kim Brown]

Yup, and as a result, with a few exceptions, I hike/backpack solo or with Jim or a handful of others; typically no more than 2 others on a trip. I think mainly I do this because of my wishes and limitations, not that of others. I'm the pain in the ass, not others (well not all others ). I'm the one with a list of criteria of potential hiking partner attributes and drawbacks. Tell-all? No, because I wouldn't want anyone gossiping about what a pain in the ass I am, problems I have caused. Because I am, and I have. I will say that in general, I like my happy bubble when hiking. I don't like it pierced<======this isn't the same as listening to someone who's going through a rough time. Sheesh, I sound like a complex problem, don't I.

[JVesquire]

One place this comes up a lot is hiking with kids, in scouting or whatever, and the odd assortment of people that often brings together who otherwise might not interact in the outdoors. Our scout troop has people with all kinds of different experience levels, but I can say my kids mostly have more than any adult in the troop. So we're always doing something less ambitious than we might otherwise do ourselves. That means camping, backpacking or canoeing with people doing things we find bizarre, not realizing where they are at any given moment, packing the kitchen sink and more, etc. But there's also a lot of fun in seeing people learn to appreciate the wilderness and have fun with it, a lot more laughter and stories than when you hike alone.

[solohiker]

Ok, despite my moniker I have, on many occasions, hiked in groups. Most stories of "endured contention" I can think of are (fortunately) related to day trips and not backpack outings. To answer the OP question: "Anyone have stories to tell?" My answer would be: Maybe, but I'm NOT going there -not in any kind of detail. I can give a few recurring scenarios. On a few occasions there's been one person in the group that suddenly decided to walk at that pace where each step is less than a full foot-length. Feet are generally less than 12 inches long, so I'm talking single digit inches per step. You feel for the person, but you also feel for the rest of the people on the trip that really want to get to the destination, enjoy it, and return home before tomorrow. Sometimes no matter how much you talk about it before hand there are individuals that have a distinctly different definition of a "moderate day hike." Then there's the "kids" factor as JVesquire points out. When our own kids (we had 3) were in their teens we backpacked, and day hiked with them frequently. They went through various stages of rebellion, or dislike of each other, or dislike of us, or sometimes a combination of all the above. Honestly a vacation to a beach with teens may not have been that different. Not going into specifics, but in the end, they are all now in their 30's, love hiking, and are more than willing to "put up" with my (slower than them) pace just so they can hike with me occasionally. Like JVe, I've had some experience with scout groups, but my observation is that the other parents on the trip were more of a problem than the scouts. There were parents that wouldn't stop helicopter parenting everyone, and parents that insisted the young and able boys slow down to their snail's pace, which begged one to wonder why they volunteered to come along in the first place. I am a bit of a hermit. I like to stop and look when I feel like it, and rush past places that I don't find interesting. I like solitude as I hike, and I don't want to make other hikers conform to my unsteady pace. I don't mind seeing people on the trail, trails are for everyone. If someone really wants to chat a bit, I'm ok with that. I've even had chance-meetings with a few NWHikers on trails (in four different cases I recognized them by their dogs!). Generally speaking, though, I like hiking alone. As Kim B says - I don't want to be someone else's pain in the ass.

[Chief Joseph]

There are obviously positives and negatives to hiking with partners, and there more people involved, the more likely there will be contention. Some positives of having a partner/s is the ability to share food, gear, and knowledge, safety, etc. I prefer to hike-backpack with just one other person, two max. Plus anyone who has ever had the gnome as a partner very likely has encountered "contention".

[HikerJohn]

Certainly! One of the more memorable experiences was a 50 miler on the PCT with a bunch of scouts. Most were pretty good, with the occasional whining, but one of them was really a pill. He liked to walk behind me and once in a while would poke my boot with a hiking pole. On purpose?? Don't know, but on one particularly hot and grueling afternoon he did it one too many times, I turned and said if you touch me with that pole one more time, I'm going to twist it into a pretzel and make you carry it out because we practice LNT. He turned white as a sheet and kept a more respectful distance for the rest of the trip...

[solohiker]

None of my scouts on the 50 miler were whiners. It was the other adult that was the PITA.

[solohiker]

It might be worth noting that enduring contention is not limited to hiking. I am certain we can all remember episodes of enduring contention that had nothing to do with hiking. I do get what the OP is asking but am not willing to give specific examples from my own experiences. Similarly, there are non-hiking episodes of enduring contention I’ve managed to survive that I would not post on any forum, anywhere. I can dance around the details with nothing specific but part of successfully enduring contention is not ever venting publicly afterwards.