As my horse hobbled up the mountain toward Ruminahui, a volcano in Ecuador that rises more than 3 miles above sea level, shooting pain radiated from my upper back toward my ribs. It had started an hour earlier, when my horse had stumbled over uneven terrain in blasting winds. At that moment, I felt my upper back and lower back collide.

The pain was shocking—and disconcerting, as I was only 3 hours into an all-day trek. I felt uncomfortable and lost in more ways than one.

This was in 2010. I was a travel writer, so "adventures" like this were common. However, after 7 months living in Quito, where I worked as a staff writer for a travel guidebook company, I was adventured-out. Having endured a relentless parasite and numerous aches and pains, I'd been questioning whether this "dream job"—so exotic and enviable on paper—was what I really wanted.