Was I in the wrong here or partner re walk

[Ieattoomuchsugar]

We went out for a walk, was quite a high ascent but made it to the top which was great.

We started our descent and then it began getting dark around 4:30pm. The choice was either a road which would take a bit longer or a dirt path. I said we should go on the road as it's safer in the dark and my partner was adamant that the other path was shorter.

We took it and it was essentially a steep downhill mudslide in the dark for large parts of it. I admit I was pretty scared as we had a torch but didn't know the path and we kept slipping over despite having walking boots on. I just felt it was unsafe and we could have injured ourselves. It was a bit terrifying at the time.
We made it out but I was saying to my partner that we should have taken the road as it's safer, at least we made it.
Maybe I was overreacting but I have a bit of a phobia of falling whereas my partner is less afraid and doesn't worry.
If this situation arises again should I just take the safer road on my own ? Or just get over it ?

It depends on what you were wearing, OP.

If you were both wearing hi-viz, reflective clothing then YANBU and the road would probably have been the better choice.

If you were not wearing any hi-viz/reflective clothing, then YABU and it's much safer not to walk along a road in the dark.

The road would have been quicker. Point your torch to the floor so you're more visible and stick to the side. Better than risking a broken ankle in the dark away from any chance of seeing anybody.

Obviously the thing to do is to plan your day properly so you are off the hill before dark.

But personally given the choice between a road and an unknown path I would take the road, assuming it was a quiet backroad rather than something with heavy traffic. You'd be able to see and hear cars coming, the surface will be much better and in the unlikely situation where you do need help it will be able to get to you much faster.

As to road safety there are country roads, country roads and country roads. In upland areas, they tend to be more open and quieter, a very different risk to lowland roads hemmed in by hedgerows with no space to step off away from traffic.

As a runner there are some local roads I am happy enough to run on as they have good visibility and others that are too windy, hemmed in and busy.

Generally, I'd be happier with a decent road than picking over open countryside in the dark. Also if you've run out of daylight because of delays with navigation, weather, tough terrain, that means that keeping to the path will continue to be hard work.

It's best to plan spare daylight in. I tend to find cross-country pace is only 2 miles per hour by the time you take in to account gates/ checking the map/ doing a bootlace/ picking over rough ground... Always carry torches, spare layers, map, compass, spare food, shelter. National parks usually have specialist moutain forecasts that take altitude into account and are much more informative than the standard forecast.

How can we possibly know.
If you climbed Pen-y-fan and the road option was the A470 you would have been very silly to walk on it. Whereas a rural lane no issue.

I think you need to plan your hill climbing better

I'd agree with this. Go out earlier and plan your route in advance (you might need to change this while out but it's still best practice to plan ahead). And each party member should have a headtorch in their bag, even if you don't plan on being out past dark, because you never know when you'll need it. If you end up on paths like the mud path you were on you'd fine it much easier with a headtorch than a handheld torch as well.

How can we possibly know.
If you climbed Pen-y-fan and the road option was the A470 you would have been very silly to walk on it

Or perhaps Bleaklow and the a57 Snake Pass

mmm... I dragged DS thru endless muddy fields on a too far dodgy descent once. Having dodged crazy MTBers part of the way, too.

It wasn't dark but daft in retrospect, we should have taken cable car instead. We laugh about it. Bonding madness. These things happen on a long walk. It's impossible to make the walk perfect for weakest member because they don't know themselves perfectly anyway. Nothing bad happened. No harm done. Would be my perspective.

It’s on both of you. You should have planned better. No point on complaining about the route taken once you’re already on it either, that’s just annoying.