CA CA - Monica Reza, 60, hiker, Mount Waterman, Los Angeles National Forest, 22 Jun 2025

[ItalyReader]

Is no one else curious about the fact that Reza went hiking with two experienced hikers, one goes back to their car and the other one stays with her but gets separated? Dangerous area.. you don't get separated and you would not go off by yourself. No names released of these hikers and there aren't any statements by them that I could find. Hiking is dangerous... falls, mountain lions, snakes and serial killers. If you need 911, do you think they can find you in time to save you? NOT.

I have not been able to find a thorough account of what happened. Some of the news articles seem very vague.
I did watch the yoga video and the other man in the video struck me as a bit intense “life changing” language etc - I wonder if the young man in the video was one of the hiking companions -
I wonder if that yoga group inspired them to begin “running oddly” as has been quoted in several articles.
I don’t know what running oddly means -
(Monica Reza Is a Missing Scientist: The Strange Circumstances of Her Disappearance)

 

[planet]

Is no one else curious about the fact that Reza went hiking with two experienced hikers, one goes back to their car and the other one stays with her but gets separated? Dangerous area.. you don't get separated and you would not go off by yourself. No names released of these hikers and there aren't any statements by them that I could find. Hiking is dangerous... falls, mountain lions, snakes and serial killers. If you need 911, do you think they can find you in time to save you? NOT.

"Curious" is not my response. Disappointment, alarm, and dismay are.

The trail is not a gentle path through woodland or meadow terrain. Hiking it requires heightened safety consciousness and practice. That being said, my feelings are irrelevant to what's happened. There is a risk of substituting harsh judgement of decisions for compassion for her, and for her family, friends, and colleagues.

There are lessons any of us can draw from this event for using increased caution when hiking ridge trails than when hiking flat, woodland or meadow trails. My one step out would be to urge hikers not to jog or run on ridge trails--but perhaps my calculus of that risk is too high. Exposure to sun and heat without adequate water are the most serious hazards for hikers on most trails.