Thanks, Mike for all your hard work and dedication.

The following says a lot about TRSAR: "TRSAR has maintained a well trained and efficient volunteer group since 1964". (More on this page http://www.trsar.org/about_us.htm )

So far this year we have had a record number of missions at Hell’s Gate. The folks rescued seemed to have found out about the area in different ways. One of the groups rescued had found out about the area from a website called www.toddshikingguide.com. It is an interesting website. The writer is a guy named Todd currently residing in Phoenix. He presents himself to be a very good hiker and has a write-up on a large number of hikes in the area. The hike the group was following is titled Haigler Creek and is listed in the Tonto National Forest area of the website. Todd’s website lists it as 17-mile hike that he did in 2 days of hiking, 10 hours on day 1 and 3 hours on day 2. The hike starts from the Alderwood Recreation Site and heads down stream on Haigler Creek to the confluence with the Tonto Creek and then up the Hells Gate Trail. Now for anyone unfamiliar with the area, when he says hiking that actually means swimming and hiking. He identifies that swimming is unavoidable and a wet suit may be desirable during cooler weather or for skinny people. One of the folks in the group we rescued on this hike was of the skinny persuasion and had difficulty with the cold water. The website recommends the hike be completed in 2-3 days. I actually think the website listed the conditions pretty accurately. In this case the subjects of our rescue were new to loaded hiking and the heavy gear and swimming in cold water was more than could be handled by one of the group

The most recent group in the area that got in trouble heard about the hike via an Arizona Republic article on the state’s 5 best swimming holes. One of the swimming holes listed is Hell’s Gate.

This is a quote from the article: “Despite its name, Hell's Gate Wilderness is a lovely place, with ragged rock walls towering hundreds of feet and a lush riparian corridor providing a swath of green through the desert. It's a long, hot, steep and strenuous hike down to Hell's Gate, but it only makes the creek that much more inviting. And it cuts way down on the crowds.” 

Sounds pretty nice. The article does not mention any mileage or distances to get to the swimming hole. To actually complete the hike starting at the starting location identified is 19 miles round trip. So anyone doing this hike could get into trouble pretty quickly if sufficient water or food is not taken as well as water filtering devices. It would be difficult to carry enough water for 19 miles. Two of the recent rescues were a result of insufficient water. In this case I feel the article as written was irresponsible and did not provide adequate information to possible hikers to make a good decision on whether to complete the hike and what to take.