[hprotagonist]

Among other reasons, this is why i have a contingency email draft that I have ready to go whenever I go out on a serious-ish hike, along these lines:

“here’s who is going, this is our license plate, this is our gear, this is how much food we have, here’s a very rough itinerary; if i don’t update this email by such and such a time, contact the following SAR groups...”

[latchkey]

My favorite service for this: https://www.deadmansswitch.net

[LorenPechtel]

Useless for backcountry safety, it won't trigger for way too long. Off the top of my head there are two apps that are actually useful: Cairn and I believe AllTrails has just added such capability. You can set a notification that will be delivered at a certain time if you don't check in with it. Cairn's capability on Android I find quite limited, I haven't tried AllTrails.

[hprotagonist]

I just have a template saved in my notebook repository that i can export as needed into an email draft.

It's convenient because it makes me shake my gear down, too.

[hazeii]

In hotels I leave a note on the table saying where to look if I'm not back (never been needed, but stories like this remind me to keep doing it).

[lostlogin]

This and a personal locator beacon and you have saved yourself and others a massive set of problems if anything goes wrong.

[LorenPechtel]

Yup, I leave a dead-tree version with my wife before going out solo, period. And my gear includes a PLB.

If I were doing things where I didn't expect other hikers around I would upgrade that PLB to an inReach.

[throwaway5752]

Everyone should have a prep checklist, and letting someone know where you are, how long you will be there, and having a plan to survive that duration should be the foundation of it. Great call.