The post-hike check-in is a dead-man's switch for hikers: if you don't tell Pack Hiker you're back by your deadline, it tells your emergency contacts. You set it up before you lose reception; from there everything is automatic.
Setting It Up
On the Emergency tab, enable post-hike check-in for yourself and choose:
- Deadline — when you expect to be out and contactable. Tap a day (the tiles run from the hike's last day to 6 days after it, the latest a deadline can be) and a time: 12:00, 15:00, 18:00 or 21:00, or any other time under Another time. It defaults to 6 pm on the hike's last day; pad it generously (a late finish shouldn't trigger an alert).
- Timezone — the deadline's timezone, in case you're hiking away from home.
- Repeat — if you miss the deadline, alert your contacts once, or re-alert every 12 or 24 hours until you check in.
Check-in is per-member — each hiker arms their own. You'll need at least one emergency contact with an email address, because alerts go out by email.
Note: While anyone's check-in is armed, the hike's dates can't be changed. A deadline is a fixed time, so moving the hike under it would alert contacts while the pack is still walking, or too late. Turn it off, change the dates, then set it again.
The owner can close the hike while check-ins are running, after seeing whose. Your check-in keeps working on a closed hike — alerts still go out and you can still check in — but its deadline can no longer be changed, so set one with room to spare.
The Timeline
6 hours before your deadline you get a reminder email with a one-click "I'm back safe" link — no login needed, tap it from a trailhead with one bar of signal. On the Android app, your phone also schedules on-device reminders over the final hours — they fire without any reception.
Until the deadline, a ribbon in the app lets you check in (or adjust the deadline if you're running late — do this, not nothing!).
If the deadline passes without a check-in, your emergency contacts are emailed an alert. You immediately get a summary email listing exactly who was contacted, with a link to turn the check-in off.
What Your Contacts Receive
The alert email tells your contacts, plainly, that you set a check-in deadline for this hike and haven't confirmed you're back. So they can act on it, it carries the full safety-brief detail:
- your name, the hike name and its dates
- everyone in the group with phone numbers, plus each hiker's emergency notes
- the day-by-day itinerary and food drop locations
- the PLB registrations and the full emergency-contact list
- the planned route files attached — openable in any mapping app, and exactly what search and rescue want to see
It's clearly marked as an automated safety alert that can't be replied to, and advises contacting you directly first, then emergency services if they're genuinely concerned. If you chose a repeat, follow-up alerts continue on your schedule; repeating alerts stop after 7 days, with a final notice to contacts that automated emails are ending (and that this does not mean you're confirmed safe).
Checking In — Even Late
The moment you check in — via the email link, the ribbon, or by turning check-in off — the system stands down. If your contacts had already been alerted, they automatically get an all-clear telling them you're safe. Late is never too late: checking in after an alert is exactly how you call off the worry.
The hike's emergency details are deleted two weeks after it ends, which is after the last alert a check-in can send. If your contacts were alerted and you haven't checked in yet, they're kept until you do, so the all-clear can still reach them.
Note: Turning off check-in from the app works even offline — the request is saved on your phone and sent the moment you're back in reception. It only counts as done when the server confirms.
Tip: Check-in works alongside, not instead of, telling a human your plans. Send the safety brief first; the check-in is the automated follow-through.