My friends and family like to tease me that I spend my vacation in (at least in their eyes) very un-relaxing ways. To me, there’s no better way to spend a week than hiking or mountain climbing; the kind where you spend a few days ascending an ice-covered mountain, roped up to your climbing companions as a safety precaution against falling through a snowbridge and into a crevasse (I’ve been in a few).

And then there are the long hikes I take alone, usually into the desert. If I can go a week without seeing more than four people, max, then I’m literally a happy camper. Most of us these days, amateurs and professional guides alike, carry an emergency beacon that lets you contact search and rescue in case the whole endeavor goes pear-shaped .…