Whenever you’re venturing into the backcountry, it’s advised that you carry a satellite communicator such as the Garmin InReach in case you get lost or injured. That way, even if there’s no cell service, you’ll be able to contact mountain rescue and increase your chances of survival. Put that way, it seems like a no-brainer, but let’s be honest here – satellite communication devices are expensive and the majority of us don’t carry one for that reason.
What almost everyone carries into the wild with them, however, is a smartphone, and Apple’s iPhone has a relatively new feature that can connect you to rescue crews when you’re out of service, and it’s already saving lives. There was the Alaskan snowmobiler who became stranded while traveling solo in the wilderness and the couple who were injured after crashing their car down a remote California canyon – in both cases, the victims survived after activating this feature. And just last week, Douglas County Search and Rescue south of Denver reported that they had carried out three rescue missions in two weeks where the subjects were able to communicate with them using their iPhones.
