An unaltered female or male hound can always go on an individual hike.  In order to be included in a group hike; an unaltered female hound will be required to take three weeks off from hiking during her heat cycles and an unaltered male can be included on a group hike in a trial basis.  Unaltered males can at times have behavior problems or be bullied by altered males, and this would not be an acceptable situation for a group hike.