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I just saw this story about a hiker missing in the Superstitions. Anyone seen an update on this story?

She went out of Peralta TH. Apparently she took the Peralta Trail (or at least meant to) and continued beyond Freemont Saddle. According to this article, she was found 5 miles north of the trailhead.

It wasn't Peralta trail she went out on. She started on one of the other two trails from the peralta trail head. We found her cell phone on dutchmans trail and apparently they picked her up near bull pass after she came down off a mesa in the black top mesa area.

If she started out on #104 (Dutchman Tr) from Peralta and had actually intended upon staying on it instead of taking the "shortcut" (to Southby???) that got her in trouble, I can't figure where she originally intended on going. If she had stayed on #104 it just keeps going all the way up to First Water and in fact goes right by where she was found.

From the article, it sounds to me like she thought she was on the Peralta, but was really on either the Dutchman or Bluff Springs. Maybe she started on the Bluff Springs, and turned on the Dutchman when she got to the junction with it. From there she eventually would have ended up near Black Top and Bull Pass. Or she could've taken the Terrapin from the Bluff Springs Trail. That would've taken her in that direction, as well.

We'll probably never know, because I doubt she knows which trails she took!

What she told us was she inteneded to walk for an hour and then turn around and come back the same way. She wasn't really indending to go anywhere, except for a walk. That's a good plan for an area you've never been.
Unfortunatley she didn't stick to her plan. She started on 104 (we think) and kept going on, longer then an hour, because she was having a good time. Without a map she didn't know how to loop around back to the trailhead, but she thought 104 would loop around and she thought she was pretty close to the trailhead so she kept going. Wrong thought, 104 is about 20 miles long and ends at first water. She got about 13-14 miles in on 104 and climbed a mesa in the bull pass/black top mesa area. We don't know if she took the bull pass trail or stayed on 104.

Really makes you wonder what some people are thinking!!! Thanks for all the info Daryl. Must have been a hot one out there looking for her - really pleasant I can imagine.

I think you guys are missing the whole point here, after spending 3 days in the wild, all she wanted was a DIET PEPSI! Now. I wonder what route she took to the Circle K.

Sorry to interrupt, please continue your discussion...

ck1 wrote:I think you guys are missing the whole point here, after spending 3 days in the wild, all she wanted was a DIET PEPSI! Now. I wonder what route she took to the Circle K.

Sorry to interrupt, please continue your discussion...

No doubt after 3 days of wandering in the Superstitions she was quite delirious! Why else would she think of nothing but DIET PEPSI (aka, cough syrup) and imagine signs pointing to non-existant springs. Hmm, maybe Southby Springs flows Diet Pepsi!

She didn't have a map or a book?
Sounds to me like she was using a Falcon Guide.
I have seen a few rock climbers using the Falcon Guide for rock climbing looking for Barks Canyon. Apparently it tells you to go up to Freemont Saddle and beyond looking for the "wall" in Barks Canyon. When you try to tell them they need to take 104 and not Peralta, they look at the book and then me and then the book and so on. They don't know who to believe.

GTG

Colin, do I sense that you think there was some funny business going on here? I admit I could understand if it was Diet Coke, but Pepsi - something smells!!

GTG, was that a "rip" on the venerable Falcon guides? Shame on you - someone's made a very good living selling those things to poor unsuspecting hikers!

BTW: To get to Barks Canyon Wall, the normal route is via Bluff Springs Tr or even Cave Tr. (#104 heads out toward Miners Needle)

I only wandered 2 days looking for her (with a map and a compass of course) and all I wanted when I hit the trail head was cold gatoraid and a foot massage. I guess if I stayed out a little longer the diet pepsi urge would have kicked in.

Also, most of the day Monday was an awesome day for a hike out there if we weren't looking for her. It was overcast and even sprinkled a few times. Don't tell anyone, but I really enjoyed being out there on Monday. Later in the day Monday and Tuesday it got pretty ugly out.

OOPS

GTG

Has anybody heard anything else about the body they found while searching for the lost woman?

Rodney wrote:Has anybody heard anything else about the body they found while searching for the lost woman?

This was the last thing I saw, from Saturday's Republic:
http://www.arizonarepublic.com/arizona/ ... per24.html

Maybe we're on to something here.
For example, the winning quarterback of the Super Bowl states - "I'm going to Disneyland".

Imagine the marketing possibilities,
Get "lost" for a few days to a week, make the local news, have hundreds of rescue personnel looking for you, etc.
You get "found" and your statements to your rescuers go as follows -
'I just want to read the AZ Republic, eat chicken fried steak at the TexAZ Grill, and go swimming at Big Surf!'


Just for the record, I don't condone this type of activity, safety and rescue personnel have enough to do without looking for another lost hiker. On the other hand I do condone chicken fried steak at the TexAZ grill.


GTG

This was the last thing I saw, from Saturday's Republic:
http://www.arizonarepublic.com/arizona/ ... per24.html

Thanks Mike...this line from the article could make for a good topic subject:

-There's a lesson to be learned. What he did was very dangerous," Curtis said. "He liked it, but he wasn't prepared. People should learn from it.-

"How to prepare for a 300 foot fall in only one hard lesson!"

Sadly, Brian Curtis-Darwin Award nominee for August. RIP

ck1 wrote:I'll send what I usually fill out in to Joe...I shared it with Cody Ludin via email and he told me a few things to add...pretty cool of him..

send it on over Colin

I think it will fit well on your Gear List article
should also be a good link from the Disclaimer • Privacy • Copyright • Warning • Contact page, which I just realized I never filled in the link 8O

which I just realized I never filled in the link

It worked for me yesterday. In fact I was quite impressed with the new page for all of it.
As usual, great job joe.

GTG