Get an amateur radio license (or, in Canada - it's a "Certificate of Proficiency"), and then spend a couple of years participating in exercises with a local club.
That way you'll learn about propagation, what makes a good radio cost 10x as much as a Baofeng, antenna systems, signalling modes, communication protocols, handheld channel programming, what local repeater systems are around and what their capabilities are.... You'll also learn who are the other hams around you, and where and what time they tend to be listening.
Or, assuming a 911 call from your cellphone isn't an option, you could pay for a Garmin InReach device.
Not a ham operator and this definitely isn't the correct answer, but if you find yourself in an emergency with a radio you don't know how to use, 121.5 mhz is monitored by almost every airliner and a lot of general aviation aircraft.
That way you'll learn about propagation, what makes a good radio cost 10x as much as a Baofeng, antenna systems, signalling modes, communication protocols, handheld channel programming, what local repeater systems are around and what their capabilities are.... You'll also learn who are the other hams around you, and where and what time they tend to be listening.
Or, assuming a 911 call from your cellphone isn't an option, you could pay for a Garmin InReach device.