How to Hike With Someone Who's Faster (or Slower) Without Hating Each Other

Updated October 9, 2025 10:52AM

No one likes being slowed down, just like no one likes feeling like the slowpoke who’s doing it. But unless you’re either a dedicated solo hiker or religious about only going outside with people who hike at your speed, you’re going to eventually find yourself having to adjust your clip to match a partner who’s slower or faster than you.

There are many reasons why you might hit the trail with someone who hikes at a different speed than you. It could be that you’re part of an organized hike, that you’ve decided to join a more experienced group, or that you’re introducing a kid or loved one to the joys of backpacking. It could just be that your friends or family hike slower or faster than you and you like their company.

Regardless of the reason, hiking with someone who doesn’t match your speed can be a recipe for frustration and hurt feelings if you’re not ready for it. In the worst cases, slower partners struggle to keep up and faster ones subject them to seemingly endless “slinky stops” or, worse yet, end up leaving them behind entirely. A better idea: Plan ahead for a trip that will leave everyone satisfied.

Pick Your Trail Carefully

Some trails have a way of magnifying the differences in ability within a group of hikers, while others minimize them. Look for a hike with mild to moderate elevation gain and a relatively uncomplicated treadpath, especially if the faster members of your group are significantly more experienced in that kind of terrain; avoid rocky, rooty trails, or any other kind of terrain that’s ever tempted you to throw your pack on the ground and scream.

Beyond difficulty, pick a trail that you’ll be OK going slowly on. Pluses for sweeping fields of wildflowers, seemingly endless views, abundant bird life, or any other attraction worth moseying by.

Set Expectations in Advance

Concerns about being benighted above treeline or missing important appointments lie at the heart of many an on-trail spat. Before you hit the trail, talk through the plan: How long is the trail and how much time will you set aside for it? Are there any hard outs on anyone’s schedule or potential weather hazards in the forecast? If you’re behind schedule, will you forge on or turn around, and when will you make that decision? This will both help prevent pace anxiety and let you identify when you really are running slow.

Load Up the Faster Hiker

One tried-and-true way to slow down a too-fast hiker: make them carry more. On an overnight trip, let the stronger hiker carry the shelter and the cookware, at least. Still sauntering while your partner struggles? Bring a bigger backpack and grab the sleeping bags, pads, and food too. In some extreme circumstances—think a seasoned long-distance hiker and a first-time-sleeping-outside beginner—it might even make sense for the stronger of you to carry basically the entire load and let your partner cruise with a daypack.

Plan Breaks

As the day goes on and the fatigue sets in, you might find one of you is lagging farther and farther behind the other. Prevent that by building in regular breaks to refuel, drink some water, and put your feet up. Ten minutes every hour is a good starting point.

Recover—Hard

The most beautiful thing about backpacking? In the morning, you get to wake up and do it all over again. The toughest thing about it? In the morning, you get to wake up and do it all over again. Make sure all of you are feeling your best by planning some in-camp recovery time. Get there early, stretch, and take a load off. Consider packing some light recovery tools like a lacrosse ball to roll out your tendons, or just repurpose a Nalgene. (Fireside foot rubs aren’t a bad idea either, if you and your partners are tight like that.) A plush sleeping pad (make the stronger hiker carry that) and a lightweight camp chair like the 1-pound Helinox Chair Zero (make them carry that too) can go a long way toward soothing tired muscles as well.