I have to agree. Upon my initial read of this, my very first thought was if she had broken toes why would you go on a hike? My thought was maybe they had been on a drive/day out and stopped at some attraction and no one knew how far back a walk it would be to get to it and she thought she could make a short trek. I also considered she thought the dog needed to be walked (after a drive) and perhaps stopping by the creek to rest, she was able to also give him a drink.
However, none of the rest of it makes sense. I also would like to know who the friends were, how and why they came to be there and why she decided to hike as a recent cancer survivor and with broken toes, etc. It is one thing for her to have disappeared but a dog too?
They have been married a year? How long total were they together I wonder? Where did she meet him, in San Felipe? It is said she lived there for 20 years, it did not say he had. If she lived there, it is not hard to believe she met him there though in which case the friends could have been mutual or friends of either of them. I note she carries a different surname than he does so she did not take his name, not that that means anything.
The marijuana grow operations, if these were near a trail that led to a known attraction, I doubt it is the first it was known they existed?
Is it an actual parking lot or if it is as remote as it sounds, is it just a small dirt parking area? I guess she could have made it back to the parking area is one possibility. If it was actually a lot and this a popular attraction, she could have encountered someone on the trail or in the lot.
I went back and reread the initial article and it is stated the husband was going back with the attorney general/PGJE officials he stated on his FB? Why would they take him to the area if he never left the car, exactly what is it he could show them?
Her disappearing is one thing, but the dog too? Someone mentioned above maybe the dog took off after something and she followed the dog. Definitely a possibility, and most of us probably would try to find the dog.
One last thought is I believe they mentioned six friends and then we can add the two of them. Eight people so short of having a very large van or vehicle, they traveled in at least two vehicles. I do not know that means anything, it is just an observation.
All of this is simply my thoughts/thinking out loud and no conclusions.