I'm really excited for this. I've considered getting a licator beacon for emergencies while hiking and camping, but didn't want to pay a monthly subscription for something I wouldn't use every month.
It may be worth looking into Meshtastic, especially if you know other hikers. €50 will get you a portable node with long range, long battery life, GPS location, mesh routing and no subscription.
I got into ham about a year and a half ago. Super interesting, I just didn't have the time because I was in a pretty intense school. I'd love to tinker with meshtastic, but is that a solution for hiking? Would you need to rely on a node being within range of you in order to convert your message into sms or something?
you can get an ePLB (emergency personal locator beacon) which has no subscription since it is an international coalition for rescue. don't need to pay garmin or whatever for that b.s. and it uses special satellites to locate you so it's very reliable. This is what ships and planes use to signal distress as well.