April 23, 2026

After a backcountry horseback riding accident in 2005, Brian Sheets promised himself he would never be in the backcountry without communication again. Eighteen years later, when faced with an “eerily similar” situation, he was glad he had made that promise to himself and purchased an inReach® satellite communication device¹. He shared his story with Garmin.

My earliest memories revolve around riding horses for ranch work and pleasure — mainly backcountry fishing and hunting trips.

In 2005, during a hunting trip in the Shoshone wilderness in northwest Wyoming, I was on an early morning elk hunt when the young horse I was riding reared over backward on me while crossing a stream. I had a hunting partner who got the horse off me, but I was severely injured and unable to move. He had to ride 6 miles to get to a landline to call for help.

I laid there for almost 10 hours, not knowing if he made it out or if help was coming. Just as dark was setting in, I cannot describe the relief I felt as I heard a helicopter circling overhead. I thought to myself, “Never again will I be in the backcountry without communication.”

I have owned an inReach device for several years now and have used it for checking in with family, checking weather forecasts and messaging hunting partners who are inReach users.

One August, 3 of my old high school buddies and I took off on a backcountry fishing trip we had been planning for years (we turned 65 that year). About 3 miles into the trip, one of my buddy’s horses fell coming out of a creek crossing that had washed out. The horse fell over backward and landed on top of the rider — eerily similar to my accident years before in the same area.

After untangling the rider from the horse, it was apparent we needed help. I pulled out my inReach and hit the SOS button, and within minutes was texting with the Garmin Response℠ team, giving them all the details of the injured rider and relaying to my buddy that help was on the way (much to his relief).  

I then contacted my wife, who had already been contacted by Garmin Response to let her know what was going on, and my son (who was a paramedic and in charge of a backcountry rescue team), who put a team in action that was on scene within 2 hours.

A helicopter was dispatched but could not land due to rough terrain. The backcountry rescue team ended up carting out the injured rider to a waiting ambulance at the trailhead.

Needless to say, I am a big fan of inReach and was thankful that day to have it. I never leave home without it.

¹Active subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit satellite communication devices; it is the user’s responsibility to know and follow all applicable laws.