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im posting this because i had the chance to speak with these gentlemen, as did Topohiker, Grasshopper and Crocodile Ryan. we met them on the terrapin trail saturday, one guy commented on his bad leg issue. i told them not to camp where they were, to try and make it down the hill to a water source. as of today, 2 of them remain missing. Wally apparently found one of their packs. here's the article clipped from the East Valley Tribune:

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has been searching since 11 a.m. Sunday for three missing hikers in the Peralta Trailhead in the Superstition Wilderness east of Mesa.

One of the three hikers has been located. They trio was to return Saturday night to the Valley. When they did not, family notified authorities, said Lt. Tammi Villar, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.

All three of the men are from Big Springs, Texas, and are experienced hikers who travel around the country hiking, family members told Villar.

“Family is out there (searching) as well as the search and rescue coordinators,” Villar said.

The DPS Ranger is flying over the area as well, Villar said.

Two of the three men have been identified as Jerry Powell, 65; and Steve Merrick, age unknown. The third hiker’s name is Chris, but no other information is known yet, Villar said.

Yikes dude. I hope everything turns out okay with these guys. At least they are stuck out there in the cooler season but still not a good situation.

Not good, Im not sure how the other two wouldve gone missing, I mean, they were on a trail, unless they decided to try and go off trail to cut distance off their trip

I feel kinda bad, the older guy looked like he was in kinda rough shape when we saw him, and it was pretty early in the day Saturday

I do love how everyone that goes missing is describe as an experience hiker, experienced to who? those guys didnt looked very experienced to me, out there in jeans and what not

hopefully they find them soon!

Crocodile Ryan wrote:I do love how everyone that goes missing is describe as an experience hiker, experienced to who? those guys didnt looked very experienced to me, out there in jeans and what not hopefully they find them soon!

Hey, I have been hiking and backpacking in the Supes for years in only jeans and never been lost or unaccounted for. Be careful how you judge others. OK!

well I would tend to side with the known safety issues provided by the "death fabric" cotton. doenst mean youre stupid, or inexperienced, just not educated on the far greater benefit of sythetic clothing.. after all, isnt hypothermia the #1 killer in the backcountry> i do believe it is!

Crocodile Ryan wrote:I do love how everyone that goes missing is describe as an experience hiker, experienced to who? those guys didnt looked very experienced to me, out there in jeans and what not hopefully they find them soon!

I love that too. Is an "experience hiker" from Illinois on the same level as an "experienced hiker" from California that just finished the John Muir, or what about an "experienced hiker" from AZ who has done multiple week long endurance trips in the desert during July? Its a great loaded term people like to use. Its right up there with "sound science".

SuperstitionGuy wrote:Hey, I have been hiking and backpacking in the Supes for years in only jeans and never been lost or unaccounted for. Be careful how you judge others. OK!

Point well taken, but, there were a number of other things about them that I didnt go into as well, Id like to think that I could pick out someone over their head when I see them now, but I have been mistaken, even quite recently from what I hear...... if you know what I mean ;)

I do feel a tinge of guilt though, as we did see them, and they were looking pretty rough very early in the day, but it never occured to me at the time they were that bad off, I mean they were maybe 8miles from the TH, in a busy area, it was maybe 230, and there was good water ~300yrd from where they stood, and not a word from them on how bad off they were

Well, my family members described me as an experienced hiker when I was doing 3-5 mile hikes once every other month or so... It's all relative to your relatives, I guess. For people who think roughing it is staying at a hotel without room service and that walking up the escalator is hiking, then just about anyone whose been out there at all seems like a pretty savy individual... Not speaking badly about anyone here, but I think the term "experienced hiker" is a red flag when I read these articles. Usually means they know enough to get themseleves into trouble.

I hope when I'm lost and some sap goes to write the article for the Daily Star, my family uses the words "rugged, rabid outdoorswoman" in place of "experienced hiker"...

I hope they're OK but it doesn't sound good. I worry extra when only part of a group is found. I also worry because the Terrapin Trail is too close to the TH for anything but serious incapacity to prevent getting out somehow.

i agree, never split up. sit down, wait.
if they would have asked for help i would have gone out of my way to alert the Ranger @ Peralta of their exact location. None of the 3 told me they needed or wanted help. They didnt say anything of the nature to Ken or Hank either. When the chopper flies the canyons (where the trails are located) they should easily spot 3 guys and gear.
Finding one guy that is unable to locate his 2 buddies sounds grim.

keep us updated if you see another article about them, I never wouldve even known, but I'll be watching now

Two years ago there was a news story about a hiker with "over fifty years of experience" who died in the Tucsons. All that experience and he somehow managed to forget to drink anything but coffee that July morning after which he walked out into King Canyon with only a 0.5L bottle of water, no hat, and a t-shirt. Just goes to show that fifty years of doing it wrong will get you killed just as fast or faster than being completely inexperienced.

All three hikers lost in the Peralta Trailhead in the Superstition wilderness east of Mesa were located Sunday, said Lt. Tammi Villar, spokeswoman for the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.

Search and rescue began looking for the three men from Big Springs, Texas, at 11 a.m. Sunday after their families said they did not return to the Valley on Saturday evening as planned.

One man was found about 4 p.m.. The other two men were found at 4:30 p.m.

All three men were in good condition and did not need medical care, Villar said. Two of the men are in their mid-50s and the third is 65 years old.

That's great! I hope they tell more of what happened. There wasn't much delay until finding the second group, so the original story must have been released soon after the first rescue.

This is a quote from one of my previous posts in regards to coming across individuals that you think are in over their heads and in need of help:

"If you come across the party in need of help please stay with them and extend help as necessary until SAR arrives. Remember that persons in need of help often will not realize the danger they are in and turn down an offer to help. Carefully evaluate the situation and do not leave them unless you are sure they will be alright on their own or until SAR arrives."

And by the way I did wear synthetic clothing when I worked with the Superstition Search and Rescue organization but the problem with this type of clothing is you have to be very careful around fire. I have melted/burned more than one pair of pants. Jeans can take the heat and wear very well. The only thing you have to watch out for is the @#$% rivets that get so hot when you sit close to the campfire that it scorches a very tender part of the body!

SuperstitionGuy wrote:This is a quote from one of my previous posts in regards to coming across individuals that you think are in over their heads and in need of help:

"If you come across the party in need of help please stay with them and extend help as necessary until SAR arrives. Remember that persons in need of help often will not realize the danger they are in and turn down an offer to help. Carefully evaluate the situation and do not leave them unless you are sure they will be alright on their own or until SAR arrives."

And by the way I did wear synthetic clothing when I worked with the Superstition Search and Rescue organization but the problem with this type of clothing is you have to be very careful around fire. I have melted/burned more than one pair of pants. Jeans can take the heat and wear very well. The only thing you have to watch out for is the @#$% rivets that get so hot when you sit close to the campfire that it scorches a very tender part of the body!

Well, the question everyone's asking is, ARE THE CAPE AND BOOTS MADE OUT OF SYNTHETIC MATERIAL??

If your in real trouble and it's Supes Guy that rescues you, do you really care....

The 65 year old guy (who was in bad shape) wanted to hike to the Perlata trail then out to the TH. I tried to convince him to turn around and go out on the terrapin trail back the TH. He said there was to many rocks. The other two guys were in good condition and they said they were going to spend 4 nights out in the supps. They said that the older guy was OK and this was his last big adventure. They said the car was at first water. The stories didn't jive up.

Hmmm. It sounds like they didn't worry much about what happened to the frst guy. An old friend of mine used to call that "leaving your buddy to die". He didn't usually mean that literally, but it could have come to that in this case if they were in a less heavily-travelled area.

This whole thing sounds pretty fishy...