Teen treks 40km to NSW pub after crash

Survival expert Bear Grylls may have found his nonchalant outback Australian match.

When farmhand Zachary Fitzgerald was stranded without mobile phone reception in remote bush in far west NSW on Tuesday, he picked up his gun and wallet and started a 40km walk to the nearest pub.

As emergency services embarked on a search, the 19-year-old was making his own way to safety, setting up camp overnight before hitching a lift the next day.

Zachary was driving through Yathong State Forest south of Cobar when his ute spun and rolled in mud from recent rain.

Travelling solo, he tried to right his toppled car before realising his efforts were in vain.

"I climbed a tree to try and get reception but there's not a great deal of service though there," Zachary, a self-proclaimed "bushie", told AAP.

"I thought the chances of someone finding me on a week day were pretty slim.

"So I decided to walk."

Zachary took his gun, wallet and a water bottle and began the trek to a pub in Mount Hope.

"I knew where I was, about 45km from town," he said.

"I left my diary in the car so that they'd have some contact details if they found it."

Wearing work boots, jeans, jacket and a white Akubra, he set off along an unsealed track just after midday and didn't stop until the sun and temperature began to drop.

Not wanting to be stuck in near-freezing conditions, he set up camp outside a station gate, gathering loose timber to make a fire.

At the same time, police found his abandoned ute in the state forest, issuing a missing person alert.

"I'm a smoker, so I had a lighter and matches on me ... I wasn't too worried," Zachary said.

"I made a bit of a wind break and set up a little camp for the night.

"I didn't take any food with me, it would have slowed me down but managed to find some fresh water."

When the sun rose, Zachary kept walking until a more-than-welcome car drove past.

"I was waving frantically and fortunately the bloke's wife noticed me, picked me up and took me into town."

He was dropped off at the Royal Hotel just after midday on Wednesday where he called his dad and let emergency services know he was OK.

"The pub was closed but they've opened it just for me," the Swan Hill resident said.

"It was a good six hours of solid walking, so I'm pretty wrecked ... sore knees and feet but apart from that I'm fine."

Zachary said he plans to celebrate his return with a well-earned drink.