The Ten Minute Trip Plan That Finds You
A rescue starts when someone notices you are late. Ten minutes of writing before you leave decides how long that takes, and where they look.
Jarrett Chisholm, ACP · September 19, 2026
A rescue does not begin when you get hurt. It begins when somebody notices you are late, believes it, and picks up the phone. Everything before that point is you, alone, with whatever you carried in. The length of that stretch is decided before you leave the house, in about ten minutes, by a piece of writing almost nobody bothers with.
Image needed · hero
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Early morning kitchen table with warm side light from a window. A phone lies flat showing a short typed message containing a route, a vehicle description and a call-out time, next to car keys, a packed rucksack and a head torch. Shoot from directly overhead at about 35mm. The on-screen text should be legible but entirely generic: no real names, no real plate, no real addresses.
Alt text ready: “A phone on a kitchen table showing a short typed trip plan message, beside car keys and a packed rucksack”
Search teams describe the same frustration over and over. They are called out late, given a vague area, and spend the first hours ruling places out rather than looking. Nothing improves those odds more cheaply than a trip plan left with a person who will act on it.
It does not have to be a form. A text message or an email to one named person beats a form, because it is timestamped, it can be forwarded to somebody official in a single tap, and you will actually send it.
Here is what belongs in it, and why each part earns its place.
The line that starts the search
One sentence does more work than all the rest combined: the time at which you want somebody to raise the alarm. Not the time you expect to be back. The time after which being unheard from is officially a problem. Without that line, the person holding your plan spends the evening wondering whether they are overreacting, and that wondering has cost people hours they could not spare.
Pick that person carefully. You want somebody reachable, not on the trip, who will notice a clock, and who is willing to phone emergency services and say the words 'my friend is overdue' without feeling foolish about it. Tell them plainly that calling is the right thing to do and that you will not be annoyed if you turn out to be fine and merely slow. Give them that permission in advance, because most people hesitate without it.
Tell them what to say as well. Where you started, what you were doing, what vehicle you drove, when you were due, and that they are calling because you are overdue. In Alberta the call starts with 911 like any other emergency call, and the dispatcher routes it from there. The person holding your plan does not need to know which agency responds. They need to know the call is theirs to make and roughly what to read out.
Make the box small
Searching is an area problem. Every detail you give shrinks the box, and a small box gets searched fast. Name the trailhead or launch point, the route you intend, the direction of travel, the point at which you would turn around, and the alternates you might reasonably switch to if conditions change. A plan that says 'somewhere in Kananaskis' is barely a plan. A plan that names a specific parking area, a specific route and a specific alternate is a real one. the courses we run out of our Calgary location.
Describe the vehicle and where it will be parked, including the plate. Vehicles get found before people do, and a confirmed vehicle at a confirmed trailhead turns a region into a valley. Add the number in your group, the colour of your tent, pack and jacket, and whether you carry a satellite messenger or a beacon. Colour matters more than it sounds, because a bright shell is visible from the air and a dark one is not.
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Empty gravel trailhead parking area early in the morning with mountains behind. One pickup truck parked alone, photographed from behind at a slight angle so the plate area is clearly framed, then blurred or blanked in post. Wide at about 28mm to show how few landmarks there are. Overcast light, no people in shot.
Alt text ready: “A single pickup truck parked alone at an empty gravel trailhead below mountains, photographed from behind”
Include the medical facts that would change how urgently someone responds. Insulin, a seizure disorder, a serious allergy, a heart condition, a recent operation. That is not oversharing. It is the difference between a search that starts in the morning and a search that starts tonight.
The part people skip
Plans change, and a plan that has changed without being updated is worse than no plan at all, because it sends people confidently into the wrong valley. If you switch routes, add a day, or bail out early, send one line to the person holding it. If you get back early, say so straight away. An unnecessary callout is embarrassing for an afternoon and expensive for everybody involved.
Spare a thought for the person holding the plan. They are the one who sits with the not knowing, watching a clock, deciding whether tonight is the night they make the call. It is a heavier job than it sounds, and it is worth telling them so, and worth telling them exactly what you want them to do so that they are never left guessing. training in supporting people through the waiting.
Ten minutes. Written before you leave, sent to one person, updated when it changes. It is the cheapest piece of safety equipment you will ever carry, and it weighs nothing at all. ask us about training a group before your season starts.
Quick answers
- What should a trip plan include?
- The single most important item is the time after which someone should raise the alarm. Add your start point, intended route and alternates, turnaround point, vehicle description and plate, group size, gear colours, whether you carry a satellite messenger, and any medical facts that would change how urgently people respond.
- Who should you leave a trip plan with?
- Leave it with one named person who is not on the trip, will be reachable, will notice the clock, and is willing to call emergency services without feeling foolish. Tell them in advance that calling is the right thing to do so they never hesitate on your behalf.
- What happens if your plans change partway through a trip?
- Send one line to the person holding your plan as soon as you can. An out of date plan is worse than none at all, because it sends searchers confidently to the wrong place, and telling someone you are back early costs nothing.