I'm with Martin and Frisket on the subject. My choice of a survival smartphone (in the N Cal) would be Android+Verizon. However if the rumored ATT+TMO merger will happen any time soon I would switch to ATT then. So, you can just go to Verizonwireless.com and select the size and features that appeal to you. I would strongly recommend the AMOLED screen models for an outdoors use. For the shockproof/splashproof casing look for the models that have cases from Otterbox - the best in the industry.

As an example I can suggest the Samsung Galaxy S. Though personally I prefer larger screens of HTC devices, this one is of a more traditional phone size.