Creating a Written Emergency Response Plan
Overview
A written emergency response plan outlines how hikers and their contacts will react to accidents, lost contact, or major route disruptions. It provides structure during stressful situations and helps align expectations between on-trail and off-trail parties.
Key points
- A basic plan identifies who will be contacted, when, and under what circumstances.
- Including route outlines, key waypoints, and likely bail-out points helps external contacts understand the context.
- Check-in schedules and grace periods clarify when a missed contact becomes a cause for concern.
- Plans often specify preferred communication channels and backup options.
- Emergency response plans can address medical emergencies, severe weather, and unexpected route closures.
- Sharing the plan with trusted contacts ensures that others know how and when to act.
- Plans are often realistic, acknowledging that minor delays are common on long routes.
- Periodic review and updates keep the plan aligned with actual itinerary changes.
Details
Creating a written emergency response plan encourages hikers to think in advance about what might go wrong and how they would respond. At a minimum, the plan identifies primary and secondary contacts, communication tools, and the general route. It describes how often the hiker expects to check in, what forms of communication will be used, and how long overdue a check-in must be before contacts often consider contacting authorities.
The plan may also outline key decision points, such as when to exit the trail due to weather, injury, or fire closures, and which towns or trailheads provide feasible access to medical care or transportation. Providing approximate time frames, recognizing that hiking schedules can shift, helps family and friends differentiate between routine variability and potential emergencies. Keeping the plan concise but detailed enough to be actionable, and updating it when itineraries change, improves the likelihood that off-trail contacts can respond appropriately if communication is disrupted.
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Illustrative hiking footage
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