I went solo on my first trip. Got totally lost on an easy weekender. Met some meetup folks on that hike. Went on some future hikes with that group and learned a lot. Found out the meetup group attracted 85% awesome people and 15% nutjobs. Sometimes I email some of those people I admire to go on trips and sometimes I go solo. I have a wife and daughter who like to day-hike but are happy to leave the multi-day stuff to enjoy on my own. Some years I only get out twice. That's cool — family is the most important thing to me. Four trips would be an exceptional year. Anyway, once a weekend is agreed upon with the Master Scheduler (wife), I get weeks of pleasure out of anticipation and planning, then I suffer all the indignities of the hike, and then I ride home on endorphins and get to tell the family all about it. Anywho, if I were you, I would try and get a couple trips scheduled a year. Popular routes/campsites are fine. Hikers are friendly. Things go wrong on every trek, but that's what makes it an adventure! I've claimed my last vacation days for this year for a hike next weekend, but if you want a partner to hit the Allegheny next year let me know. Seriously!
