In this article, we’ll explore a number of methods of backcountry communication that’ll help both keep you safe and keep your loved ones from worrying (too much) about your trip into the backcountry.

Backcountry Communication: The Essentials

• Give your friends and family a trip plan
• If you’re going with others, get the contact details of their families
• Give your loved ones a list of the gear you’re taking
• Invest in a GPS tracking device like a Garmin InReach or a Spot device
• Sign trail registers

Backcountry Communication: Before You Go

Give your friends and family a trip plan

When making a trip plan, make sure to include details of how many people you’re travelling with, and the date and location of when and where you expect to finish (even if that’s at the same place you started). If you’re heading out backcountry camping in Canada, we’d recommend using the free AdventureSmart Trip Planner (also available as a mobile app) and send it to your family.

Doing this before you leave on your backcountry hiking and camping trip will not only help your loved ones with any anxieties they may have over you heading out into the backcountry, but will serve as a helpful safety tool to ensure that you return as expected.

Give your loved ones a list of the gear you’re taking

This may sound irrelevant — but in the unlikely event that you get injured and don’t emerge from the backcountry on time, they’ll have a specific list of items to look for around a specific area (thanks to the info they’ll have gleaned from your trip plan) to help bring you back to safety.

Before you go, take pictures of certain items of gear and send them to your loved ones. Crucial items to photograph include the outside of your tent (in the unlikely event that  Search & Rescue are searching for you, knowing the color of your tent fly is useful if they’re searching from above) and a picture of the tread (i.e. the bottom) of your chosen footwear. In a situation where, hypothetically, you’ve not returned back for a few days, a picture of the tread will help search teams track any bootprints you’ve left in the area where you’ve been hiking — in hopes that those boot prints will lead, naturally, to you.

Invest in a satellite communications device

Devices like the Garmin InReach or the Spot Gen 4 are popular choices for backcountry camping and hiking. 

If you choose to purchase a device like this, let your family know before going how often you plan to send “check in” messages from it while you’re in the backcountry. This, along with them having a plan of your trip, should not only calm any worries they’ve got — but will also give you the knowledge that, at the press of a button, there’s help available if you happen to find yourself in trouble.

Crucially, you should give loved ones something of a “buffer period” between not sending messages and them calling search and rescue. If, for example, you’ve said to your family that you’ll send a check in message every day and then forget to send one, they may immediately think something’s gone wrong and send out Search and Rescue.

Piers has seen this happen. In 2023, a search and rescue helicopter hovered directly over the campsite of the group he was in while hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail, shouting down to the group through the loudspeaker the names of two hikers they were looking for. As it turned out, the people in question hadn’t told their family that they were planning on spending an extra night out camping, and as they didn’t have a satellite device with which to communicate with their loved ones, the family panicked and sent out the helicopter.

Decide before you go, then, on a careful balance on when your family can expect to hear from you. Let them know how often you expect to send check in messages, and not to worry if you miss one. 

Importantly, decide on a timetable (together) about how long they should wait for between messages before they send for help.

Tip: Though devices like the Garmin InReach and Spot Gen 4 are generally very reliable, it’s important to have a back up plan in case of unexpected problems with your device (tip: always ensure that your device’s batteries are full before you head out).