Hiking Emergency Checklist

The kit to build once, the checks before every trip, and the steps to follow when something goes wrong — in one printable document.

Emergencies on trails are rarely survived by improvisation. They're survived by preparation that happened weeks earlier at a kitchen table. This checklist is that preparation.

What's inside

1. The Kit — the emergency kit that lives in your pack, with the twice-yearly check
2. Before Every Trip — the two-minute emergency prep
3. If You're Lost — eight steps, in order, written to be read cold and stressed
4. If Someone's Hurt — six steps that apply to you as much as a companion
5. Weather & Darkness — storm, cold, heat, whiteout, dark, rising water
6. Information Card — fill in, print, keep in the first-aid pouch

Written for the worst moment

The emergency pages use short numbered steps in strict order — no paragraphs to parse, no judgement calls hidden in prose. The information card puts your medical notes and contacts where a stranger helping you would look: in your first-aid pouch.

What you get

US Letter — print-ready
A4 — for outside the US
Mobile — single column, sized for a phone

Instant download. No account needed.

General information for recreational hikers. Not a substitute for wilderness first-aid training or emergency services.