Glossary
Headcount
A count of the travellers present at a moment and place, checked against the number expected, to confirm nobody is missing.
What is Headcount?
A headcount is the oldest safety routine in group travel. It happens at every point where the group moves or splits: pickup, before departure, after each stop, at the trail head, at camp or hotel in the evening. The count is only useful when it is compared with an expected number and the difference is resolved before the group moves.
Large groups are counted in sub-groups of 8 to 10 with a buddy or sub-leader each, and a second person confirms the total. A headcount done from memory, or from the belief that a late traveller is "two minutes away", is not a headcount.
On a live trip
Record every headcount: expected, present, missing by name, who counted, when. A written log is what you look back at when something goes wrong, and what shows which checkpoints keep slipping.
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