Most people set out on a hike with a fairly fixed idea of what the day is going to look like.

The route is in the app. The snacks are packed. Somebody has already started talking about the summit. You have driven an hour and a half and the car park is definitely not where you imagined the day ending.

But sometimes plans need to change, even if you don’t want them to!

I think one of the biggest parts of planning a hike is accepting from the start that you might need to do something different, and there’s so many reasons why we might have to do that. Weather moves in. Someone wakes up with a bad knee. A route is much busier, muddier or windier than expected. Somebody in the group is having a rubbish day. 

Having to make a big adjustment, or even deciding not to go at all, is not a failed adventure. It is just an adventure changing shape.

Some of the best days I have had in the hills have come from a change of plan. You find a new path, end up somewhere you hadn’t expected, brush up on skills you’ve not used for a while, or get a completely different view of an area you thought you already knew. It is easy to get attached to the original idea, but there is often something good waiting in the version you didn’t plan.

So how do we plan for something that’s not what we planned for and didn’t expect? 

Safety comes first

I want people to enjoy the outdoors. That has always been a big part of why I am out there in the first place. I want a group to come away feeling like they have had a brilliant day, even when the weather has not played ball.

That doesn’t mean avoiding every bit of rain or wind. Some of the best days in the mountains are a bit wild. But it does mean being honest about when conditions are no longer suitable for the group you have with you.

If there is a severe weather forecast, an official closure, a fire restriction or clear advice from a land manager, that has to shape the plan. After all, just because a route is on an app it doesn’t make it open, accessible and safe for you to go and complete it, in the same way a photo online doesn’t tell you what has happened to the ground since it was taken.

The same goes for the people in the group. If someone has an injury they hadn’t mentioned before, is already struggling with their energy, or does not have the kit they need for the conditions, we might not go out. Or we might go somewhere completely different. There is no point pretending the original route is still the right call just because it was the original route.

Read what is actually in front of you

If you’re heading out into the hills, it’s so important to learn how to read what is happening in front of you, rather than just what’s on your phone. It is very easy to see a little weather symbol and decide you know what the day will be like. Then you get there and the ridge is taking the wind full on, the ground is far slippier than you expected, or the visibility has disappeared just when you need to make a navigation decision.

With this in mind, I always suggest taking a few minutes before you start to have a proper look at your surroundings. What is the wind doing? How warm does it feel? Is the group you’re with comfortable? Does the path look like the version you were expecting? Are there obvious places to stop, shorten the route or come off it? You should then be repeating these questions to yourself as you go throughout the hike, allowing you to make crucial decisions at the right moment, rather than existing in a state of obliviousness. 

It’s not about second guessing yourself at every turn. It’s about keeping your brain switched on.

Think about the whole group

It’s not unusual for a group hiking plan to quietly become the plan of the fastest or most confident person. Nobody usually means for that to happen, it just does.

So if you’re out hiking for the day with a group of friends, you need to make sure the route and experience on the day is suitable for everybody who is there. That means thinking about the least experienced person, the person who is tired from the drive, the one who has not been out for a while, and the person who is a bit nervous about a steep section. It also means making it easy for people to say when they are not enjoying it.

You do not need a big formal conversation. A quick “how is everyone doing?” at a break can be enough. Sometimes people need an invitation to be honest. They might be worried about slowing everyone down, or feel embarrassed about saying that the weather is getting to them.

A calm change of plan at that point is a lot better than trying to push somebody through terrain they no longer want to be on.

Keep an alternative in your back pocket

Rather than just get caught out by last minute changes, I like to have a few ideas in the back of my mind before I set out about what I will do if the original plan no longer works.

It might be a lower route, a shorter loop, an out and back with an easy turnaround point, or something completely different nearby. The alternative does not need to be a lesser version of the day, instead it can be an amazing opportunity to explore somewhere new.

This is especially useful when you’re walking with other people. You don’t want the first conversation about a bail-out option to happen once everybody is cold, tired, lost or frustrated. It’s far better to think about it early so you can have an honest conversation about what needs to happen.

Don’t forget, good judgement is not something that spoils a day in the hills. It is the thing that lets you keep having days in the hills.

Let the adventure evolve

Turning around or choosing not to go can feel disappointing, especially when you have an early start, a packed lunch and a very good route in mind. But changing the plan does not mean you have done something wrong. It means you noticed what was happening, used the information you had and made a sensible choice for the people you were with. That is a real outdoor skill. And sometimes it leads to a better day than the one you had planned in the first place.