Now that I'm home, rested and emotionally regulated, let me tell you what happened to me in Iceland.

Picture this.

I'm standing in the middle of what looks like Mars. Black rock and grey dirt in every direction. No trees. No people. Just wind.

I'm three hours from my Airbnb, an hour from the nearest building, and I haven't seen another car in ages.

This is where the F-roads took me. They're Iceland's highland roads, reachable only by off-road vehicle, cutting through the most remote, alien parts of the country. Beautiful. Also unforgiving.

And I'm in trouble. Gas running low. No signal. And Google Maps wants to send me straight through a river crossing. Every other route is blocked by water too. It won't even take me back the way I came.

Low gas. No signal. Surrounded by water. Alone. What do you do?

Here's how I got out. The whole drive in, I'd been stopping to take pictures for content. And it hit me. Those photos were a trail, a record of every turn I'd taken. So I scrolled back through my camera roll and retraced the route, one landmark at a time, until I hit solid ground.

I'm only half joking when I say content creation saved my life. 😜

But I got lucky, and I don't want you betting your life on luck. Iceland is stunning, but the backcountry doesn't forgive mistakes. So here's how to not end up where I was. Or worse.

Before you leave

Check road and weather conditions. F-roads only open in summer and things change fast. Sites like road.is show what's open.

Download offline maps on Google Maps. I did, and I'm so glad. When my signal dropped, they were the only reason my phone still knew where I was.

Register your route on SafeTravel.is, and get the 112 Iceland app. This is the big one. It sends your GPS straight to emergency services, even in the middle of nowhere.

Your vehicle

Get a proper 4x4. It's not optional, it's the law on F-roads. A regular car voids your insurance out there.

Know its limits. Not every 4x4 handles deep water. I could have rented something heavier, but honestly that feels like overkill for most trips. Then again, I almost got stuck, so make your own call.

On the road

Always leave with a full tank. You can drive for hours out there without seeing a gas station.

Pack like things might go wrong

Layers, because the weather flips in minutes. Waterproof jacket, pants, and boots, because it pours out of nowhere. Water and snacks, because you'll walk more than you think. And backup batteries, because your phone is your map, camera, and lifeline all at once.

Don't go alone

Bring at least one other person. Company keeps you sane, and a second set of eyes catches trouble early.

And hey, worst case, if the snacks run out and things get desperate, a travel buddy doubles as a backup food source. I'm kidding. Mostly.

Iceland gave me one of the best trips of my life and one of the scariest hours of it. Both are true. The country is safe to explore. You just have to respect it. Prepare a little, stay humble, and don't let a pretty view talk you into a dumb decision.

Do that, and you'll come home with the good kind of story. The kind you actually get to tell.

Keep traveling, 

Andrew

What's the scariest spot a trip has ever put you in?