“That sounds like the mountain lion attacks in Orange County in January 2004”
Good rule of thumb to always carry a handgun when in wilderness areas. Here in AZ there are some desert parks inside city limits where it’s not allowed, but I’ve never seen cat sign their either. The most dangerous things in those places are personal stupidity, rattlers, scorpions, and javalina, in that order. Anytime outside Phoenix city limits - I always pack.
When I go bird hunting, I always carry a sidearm. It’s extra weight, but I don’t expect 2 rounds of #8 birdshot (I hoist an over/under) to take down a large desert critter like a wolf or lion. In southern AZ we have leopards, too, and some wolf sighting as well. Usual sidearm is an old .357 revolver and usually pack a speed loader too... Highly accurate, big round, and extremely reliable - revolvers tend not to jam even when muddy and/or wet.
On the other hand, if a big cat wants to jump you from behind, not much you can do about it other than be catfood.
Lotta big cats out here in Cal. Many encounters go unreported — especially the kind involving .357 !!
Also lots of information here:
www cougarinfo.org
Envirobots like to down play the number and blood thirts of predators.
Sorry — off track here. Sounds like the gal slipped off the cliff - RIP.
It's interesting you say that; I was in your neck of the woods a few weeks ago and went on a night hike (because it was so darn hot during the day). Along the way I passed by some unidentifiable scat from a large animal and said to myself "No need to worry, certainly the austere desert environment is unable to support large predators". Turns out I was wrong. My loved ones have counseled/reprimanded me, and I have since re-evaluted the wisdom of hiking:
1) Out in the desert miles from help,
2) Alone,
3) At night.
That said, it was an awesome hike, and I got a good photo looking down on the lights of Phoenix. This was at Quartz Peak, in the Sierra Estrella range.