We invite new comers on our cold fall trips, any one from +12 to over 80 as long as they understand what to expect and don’t need to be convinced to come along.  Most fit in and find their nitch on how they can help out.  I've seen some participants that won't do their share of the camp choirs, but a little peer pressure or chore schedule usually corrects the problem.  This year one of our regulars had some medical issues and couldn't portage anything.  We understood this from before the trip and everyone agreed to chip in and carried his stuff.  He made it up, as always as camp chef and chief bottle washer.  As long as everyone is doing the best they can, that's acceptable.

The worst participants are the whiners that complain about stuff that you can't do anything about (“it's raining” in a whiny voice). SNL Whiner family is the perfect comedy example, but not funny on a trip.  We generally drowned them on the spot and those that survive are not invited back.

starwatcher