I have had the privilege to organize numerous hiking, backpacking and trekking trips in the Washington, DC area, the U.S. and worldwide for the past 10 years. In that capacity, I have learned tremendously from the experience about group dynamics in the outdoors. In any scenario outdoors, it's important to learn to respect and understand one another and even more so when you have a diverse group of individuals who come from all walks of life. As the organizer, the diversity I have encountered in my groups has afforded me some of the most enlightening experiences on the trails.