Yesterday I left off considering how to diversify an adventure path. Honestly, I think that once you have the encounter set up, finding a way to incorporate it is easy enough. If you're ready to play something, play it. The key is setting something up to play. Or, more importantly, setting something up to play that fits into the adventure. That is the part that can be tricky. There are many reasons for the party to leave the river and work up into the hills surrounding them, as long as you know what they'll find there.
For this adventure, the assumption was that the party started at first level. By now, they've encountered two bands of kobolds, and several small groups of bandits. They are sure to be level two by now, likely close to level three or just past it. I think they can handle some decent monsters in limited numbers - bears, orcs, goblins, bugbears, hobgoblins, maybe an owlbear or an ogre. There is reason to keep the difficulty manageable, using different options for variety. Until they hit fourth level, there is still a real tipping point for success or failure within any encounter. I like keeping the big opponents available for "boss fights."
As far as moving the party away from the river, the best option is probably the weather. It doesn't matter which season it is - the river will flood in spring, a blizzard in winter or hurricane in summer or fall would drive them to seek shelter in the caves on the hillside.
The other benefit of weather related issues is that it can draw out monsters to fit the moment. The giants might come out in the storms, lizard men might come out for the flooding, wolves will love the snow, and anyone else caught in the weather will be looking to take advantage of the same cave for shelter.
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