Our family did the Lamar Valley hike on June 20th with Josh. We had a large group of 15 but everyone was great. This was our fourth trip to Yellowstone but our first time to do a hike into the backcountry. Josh is great and goes out of his way to make everyone feel comfortable and part of the group. He is very informative and safety conscious. They provide all equipment that you might need (back packs, binoculars, walking poles, lunch) and even offered coffee and a lite snack before we left. The hike is a total of roughly 6 miles-3 miles out, lunch, and 3 miles back. Josh does a really good job of breaking up the hike into series of shorter distances before taking a break and giving information about the Lamar Valley, the wildlife, geology, or Yellowstone in general.This was the coolest thing that we have done in Yellowstone and the first time that we had gotten that far off of the road and into the Park. For novices like us, it is important to use a guide as not to accidentally put yourself into a dangerous situation. You will see beautiful country and wildlife that few people get to experience. HIGHLY recommend Josh Mahan and the Yellowstone Hiking Guides.