← 4x4 Resources
AGF Field Page · Emergency

Backcountry emergency

If someone's life is in danger, stop reading and start at step 1. Save or print this page before you lose signal.

  1. 1
    Call 911.Even one bar can be enough. Give your location first.
  2. 2
    Can't call? Text 911.Only where the county accepts texts. If it doesn't, you get a bounce-back message.
  3. 3
    No signal? Use satellite SOS.iPhone 14 or later, an inReach-type messenger, or a PLB. Get out where you can see the sky.
  4. 4
    Nothing works? Stay put and be found.Stay with the rig, stay warm, make yourself visible, and wait for your trip-plan contact to raise the alarm.
A lone rig on a dirt track far down a wide mountain valley near Cooke City, Montana
Cooke City country. Help can be hours away, so plan like it.

Where am I?

Your phone's GPS works without cell service. Tap the button, then read these numbers to the dispatcher or paste them into a text.

What to tell 911

  • Where you are first: GPS coordinates, the trail or road name, the nearest landmark or mile marker.
  • What happened and how many people are hurt. For injuries, what the injury is and what first aid you have.
  • Your vehicle: make, color and plate, so a helicopter or truck knows what to look for.
  • What you're wearing and carrying, and any medical conditions.
  • Your callback number. Stay off the phone afterward so they can reach you.

Texting 911: put 911 in the To field with no other recipients. Location first, then what's wrong, then your name. Keep it short, no abbreviations. In Montana, county sheriffs run search and rescue, so 911 is the right front door even deep in the woods.

Satellite SOS

iPhone 14 or later

Try calling 911 first. When the call fails, the phone offers Emergency Text via Satellite. Go outside with a clear view of the sky and horizon and follow the prompts to aim the phone.

It sends your location and elevation, battery level, Medical ID and your answers to its questions. Some newer Android phones have satellite SOS too; check yours before the trip.

Garmin inReach and similar

Press SOS. A staffed 24/7 response center (Garmin Response for inReach) messages you back, finds the local agency for your coordinates, and calls your emergency contacts.

Needs an active subscription. Answer their messages if you can.

PLB (personal locator beacon)

Sends a 406 MHz distress signal through the international COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system. No subscription, but it's one-way: rescuers can't text you.

Registration with NOAA is required by federal rules and free at beaconregistration.noaa.gov. Add a 24-hour contact who knows your trip.

Before you need it

Know which one you carry, keep it charged, and send a test message at home. Fill in your Medical ID and emergency contacts now. Nobody wants to read a manual at the bottom of a canyon.

Stuck with the rig

Land Cruisers parked below a rock spire on a high-country trail
Regrouping on the 406 Cruisers Cooke City run, 2026.

Stay with the vehicle unless you know exactly where you are, how far help is, and that walking makes things better. A truck is easier to spot than a person, and it's shelter.

  • Run the engine and heater about 10 minutes an hour, and only if the exhaust pipe is clear of snow, mud and water.
  • Crack a window for fresh air.
  • Tie something bright to the antenna or a door. Set flares or triangles out if it's safe.
  • Dress in wool and dry layers. Use blankets and sleeping bags before you burn fuel.
  • Stuck in snow or cold? The Winter backcountry guide covers digging out, carbon monoxide and hypothermia.
  • Keep your phone warm and charged. Cold kills batteries fast.

Lost or hurt on foot

  • Lost and can't retrace your steps: call 911 and stay put unless staying is an immediate threat to your life.
  • No reception: find shelter, conserve food and water, stay warm, and signal with a whistle, light, mirror or a big visible shape. Don't light a fire in fire season.
  • Major injury (chest pain, trouble breathing, heavy bleeding, broken bones): call 911 right away. No signal? Send someone to where there is signal.
  • Someone in your group is hurt: send two or more people for help while the rest stay with them. Alone with them? Stabilize first, then go.

Leave a trip plan

Rescue starts when someone notices you're missing. Fill this in, send it to a trusted person who isn't coming, and tell them exactly when to call 911. Nothing here is sent to AGF; it stays on your phone.

Take it with you

This page won't load without signal. Print it, or save it to your phone now.

Sources

This page paraphrases official guidance. It is not medical or legal advice, and it doesn't replace training. Check the sources yourself.