Why does ralph choose an easy path to return to the platform to call an assembly?

One of the things that we learn about Ralph as the story
progresses is that he loves the idea of being in power, he loves the idea of being a
leader and being respected, but he also is quite nervous about the actual leading part
of it.  He isn't really that gung-ho about hunting, something the boys need to master in
order to survive.  He isn't always quick to make decisions and step up to lead, often
depending on Piggy to help him reason things out before
deciding.

So he often chooses the easy path, he chooses the
wrong path because he is not strategically adept and this is likely one of the reasons
why he fails so miserably as a leader.