Originally Posted by
Bati
Always have a sign-out person as a backup, regardless of what type of device you have. Someone with enough common sense not to panic if you're a bit late, or there's a storm, but who knows what kind of gear you have, what your plan is, and what type of hiker you are. They should be capable of using good judgement as to when to call for help.
I had a friend go down with a broken bone day hiking next to cliff that blocked all signals - her sign-out meant she was found when she didn't return on time.
I got caught in a bad storm and my sign-out was cool enough not to panic for a couple of extra days. Frankly, it wouldn't have done any good if he had, as the emergency crews were still rescuing people in houses that needed medical care and didn't start to search the woods for three or four days.
If you have medical issues or concerns, try to contact and update your sign-out once a day when you have phone signal, as it does shorten the time frame and help pin point your location in case something happens. But make sure they won't panic if they don't hear from you! Search and rescue teams are largely volunteers who risk personal injury and often lose pay from a 'real' job to help others. You don't want a sign out that calls them because you're 30 minutes late getting back to the car on a day hike, or 2 days late meandering through the 100-mile wilderness.