Anza-Borrego Hikers Arrive Late, in Good Condition

Six hikers who were feared lost after they failed to return from a 20-mile weekend hike in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park were found in good condition Monday, authorities said.

The hikers told sheriff’s deputies that, although they were late, they were not lost in the vast park in northeastern San Diego County.

“Apparently they were unfamiliar with the area, and the route they had taken, so it took much longer to complete the trail than they anticipated,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Robbie Hill said.

Betty Everett of Poway first notified officials Sunday night that her husband, Jim, 47; son Chris, 14, and four other people had not returned from a hike they had begun about 8 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

The Everett father and son, along with Wally Nidzieko, 38, of Rancho Bernardo; his 13-year-old son, Nick; Larry Simpson, described as in his 40s and address unknown, and Paul Davis, 17, address unknown, began hiking from the Los Coyotes campground in Warner Springs and were scheduled to arrive at the Palm Canyon campground about noon Sunday, Sgt. Roy Stamper said.

Concerned that the group would be exposed to high winds and freezing temperatures in the park’s rugged canyons, authorities organized a search team of about 50 reserve deputies and set up a command post in the Palm Canyon campground Sunday night, Stamper said.

Rain, freezing temperatures and winds of “up to 70 m.p.h. kicked up a lot of dust and impeded our ability to get to them,” Stamper said.

About 9 a.m. Monday, reserve deputies in an airplane reported that they might have spotted the group about 2 miles west of the Palm Canyon campground, Stamper said. A sheriff’s helicopter checked the site, identified the group as the missing hikers, and reported that they were in good condition.

The hikers walked into the campground about an hour later.

“A backpacker said they were spread all over the place and didn’t know where they were,” said Sharon Hill, a park aide. The backpacker told her he helped the group get back to the trail, Hill said.