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All, I just registered so that I could post this. Just returned from the area of Jackson Cabin, ran into a group of at least three very sketchy people 2-2.5 miles north of Pride Ranch. Long story short, they were armed, paranoid, and up to something that required (very poorly carried out) attempts at lying and stalking. Anyway, be aware.

Cheers.

Oh, ps - wasn't sure where this should be posted...

Wasn't me, we opted for the Bassett area.

Some folks on here go to the Galiuros a lot, so they would want to know that. Hope you reported it to the sheriff, though. I think that is even more important than reporting it here.

Pot hunters? Prospectors?

What's the saying? "If you see something, say something?"

I would definitely call the sheriff's office. What you experienced may be a valuable piece in a larger puzzle that they are working on. You never know.

dustbunny wrote:they were armed

handguns or rifles?

Do they match the description of those three missing men from July whose vehicle was found at the First Water Trailhead? :STP: ;)

Sounds to me, from the discription, like they might have been poachers or pottery hunters. Marijuana growers at this time of year? I don't think so, UNLESS they were out scouting around for the next place to plant. The fact they had guns is not the issue, it is the reported behavior. In the Galiuros I would think more people are armed than not armed. I surely would be armed in the Galiuros, other than Aravaipa, where I went a couple weeks ago. But way out on the jeep roads I would be going armed.

I would want a lot more information about their behavior, as well as the type of of firearms they were carrying. Also, I assume they spoke English and were Anglos? Is there a hunt going on over there at this time of year? Did dustbunny perhaps not understand there might be hunters in an area, and misunderstand their behavior? (I am still remembering and laughing about the reported "noisy pack of wolverines." Sorry, Charger55!). People can misinterpret what they are seeing if they don't understand it. I am not totally disbelieving dustbunny, but just would like to know a little more, to find out how he came to interpret this in that particular way. See what I mean?

And this guy, "dustbunny", is probably not going to be some kind of internet junkie like the rest of us and come back on here and chat with us about it. I bet we never see him again. (Ok, dude, prove me wrong ;) And if you do answer again, please give us a little more description. Type of clothing, type of firearm, Anglo or Hispanic, what did they do, what did they tell you that seemed to be lying, etc?)

Hey all, sorry about not getting back to the forum right away. I don't usually spend a lot of time on ye ol' Interweb. I'll try to answer all the questions that have been asked here as concisely as possible.

Physical description: 3 adults, two 'white' males and one 'white' female, perhaps in her 40s(??). All three were wearing 'survival' gear like foul weather camo-the female was wearing full body camo. Both males were carrying very large packs, maybe 6000 cubic inches?

I don't want to be crazy alarmist, because I wasn't overtly threatened (though upon encountering the female, she did make moves toward drawing a handgun, presumably changing her mind after sizing us (I was with two female companions) up. However taken together, the events led me to believe that it would be worth while to somehow let other hikers know what I saw. Long story short, I spotted the two males before they knew I was there. We continued in their direction but it became clear that they had moved off the road and were watching us. Roughly 200 meters down the road we encountered the female. After a weird standoff of a couple minutes she approached and we shot the sh*t or a 2-3 more minutes. Everything out of her mouth was either illogical or outright contrary to what we already knew (e.g., inconsistent description of her group's size, destination, plans, and method of travel). We weren't grilling her, just trying to make pleasant chit chat. After she left we were feeling uncomfortable about leaving the truck unattended and walked back up the road. She too had disappeared into the brush. Upon reaching the truck one of us spotted movement along a parallel ridge. Using binoculars we located the two males, who were watching us with binoculars and a rifle scope. This would only be moderately creepy if not for the significant amount of terrain they had to cover in order to reach that vantage point, which gave the situation a more serious feeling.

Anyway, we packed up and camped some miles away that night.

I'm leaving out the exact details of conversation because I'm lazy and it's not necessary. I am aware of the existence of hunters (I grew up in rural environs, no problem with guns, per se), and everyone in our group has spent plenty of time in backcountry, running into all sorts of colorful characters. My wild guess is that this group was out poaching, may have been using some drug or another, and was interested in not being observed doing either thing. From our perspective, their group came off as off-the-wall paranoid but it is completely possible that we also misinterpreted the situation. Frankly, I don't give a crap whether anyone 'believes' me or not (why would I lie?). I just thought I would mention the encounter because it struck me that this group was somewhat unstable, and behaving in a suspicious manner. All of that said, our group definitely agreed that the situation 'felt' weird enough to warrant just moving camp to avoid further interaction.

So there you go.

Happy trails.

Wow! That must have been scary! Hope you reported it to sheriff.

I agree, this is stuff the sheriffs' need to know. If it raised your hackles, chances are, it was something bad. And if not, you did your part.

azbackpackr wrote:Marijuana growers at this time of year? I don't think so, UNLESS they were out scouting around for the next place to plant.

Probably a poor choice if so. It seems to get daily helicopter checks and water could be a challenge.

My bet would go to poachers. Although if they had huge packs on, maybe they had just been out there for a while. I know that when I'm hiking and lost in my own world for hours without anyone else to talk to, I must seem like a weirdo when I finally come across someone. After being alone for 8 hours, sometimes I find it hard to all the sudden have a conversation with a stranger-- it can be kind of jarring. Please tell me someone else is like this!

Tough_Boots wrote:After being alone for 8 hours, sometimes I find it hard to all the sudden have a conversation with a stranger-- it can be kind of jarring. Please tell me someone else is like this!

Eight hours is a little soon, but after a couple days quiet on the trail, when I try to answer a greeting, my voice is just kind of a croak. Judging by people's reactions, either my itinerary or my explanation of it is always weird.

Anyway, I figured poachers were unlikely because that's so far from anywhere. Nobody has to go that far to poach unless they're local, and those don't sound like folks from around there.

The description of their behavior made them sound extremely suspicious to me. They likely were up to no good. If not poaching, then what? Let's brainstorm:

1. They killed someone and are in the process of burying the body.
2. They robbed a bank and are looking for somewhere to stash the loot.
3. They are on the lam and hiding out.

Tough_Boots wrote:My bet would go to poachers. Although if they had huge packs on, maybe they had just been out there for a while. I know that when I'm hiking and lost in my own world for hours without anyone else to talk to, I must seem like a weirdo when I finally come across someone. Ha ha! I'm sure I do, too! For you, it's probably the mountain man beard ;) For me, it's probably because they heard me talking to myself! After being alone for 8 hours, sometimes I find it hard to all the sudden have a conversation with a stranger-- it can be kind of jarring. Please tell me someone else is like this!

I consider you 'normal'... but then, I also think I'm normal!

Seriously, thanks for giving us the heads up, dustbunny. That's some pretty creepy stuff... especially someone reaching for a gun!

If they were up to no good, "they" will eventually get caught. Reason being, three people CAN keep a secret, if two of them are dead. ;)

snakemarks wrote:Ha ha! I'm sure I do, too! For you, it's probably the mountain man beard ;)

Probably so! Its gotten pretty out of hand lately-- might be time for a shave!