Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

by **Cy Kaicener** » Mon May 18, 2009 2:02 pm

A hiker called Alex age 28 from Ohio died on Skyline yesterday.
My friend Rob phoned me today to tell me the sad news and that he knew Alex who was with his girl friend or fiancee.
They reached somewhere before Flat Rock and then made the mistake of hiking back down. They reached the picnic tables at 1300 feet where he died. His friend made it back to the parking lot.
I can not find any report on the internet. If anyone has heard anything please post it here. I hope Rob can tell us more.

by **Hikin_Jim** » Mon May 18, 2009 2:42 pm

Oh, is that ever not good to hear. :cry:

How is the gf/fiance doing? That's gotta be just awful. May God be with her.

by **halhiker** » Mon May 18, 2009 4:29 pm

This is a tragedy. Being a desert person I sometimes take the heat too lately but this is a terrible reminder of the danger involved in doing so.

by **bluerail** » Mon May 18, 2009 8:41 pm

I've also in the past forgotten how deadly serious the heat is. I hope everyone is paying attention.

this is tragic. I'm very sorry for everyones loss.

by **Marknhj** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:01 pm

What horribly sad news.

However, I hope that it'll be a reminder to everyone who does Skyline, or who is thinking about doing Skyline, that the heat here should never be underestimated and one should always err on the side of caution. If in doubt, don't...

by **KathyW** » Mon May 18, 2009 11:03 pm

Very sad. It was 105 today when I was working in Mecca - that's pretty deadly to hike in for most people. Only the rare hiker is conditioned for temperatures near or over 100 degrees. I wasn't hiking today (I stayed in my truck most of the day with the air conditioning running), but I was still exhausted when I came home.

Just a thought, but maybe it would be better to advertise some of the other beautiful but cooler trails in the San Jacintos this time of year instead of the Skyline Trail.

by **bluerail** » Tue May 19, 2009 6:13 am

Has anyone found more info on this yet ?

by **Ellen** » Tue May 19, 2009 8:20 am

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Ellen

Website · by **Perry** » Tue May 19, 2009 11:44 am

Based on past articles in newspapers about wilderness incidents, there could be mistakes in what is reported. Rob is the most reliable source on this. He was friends with Alex, and he is careful about details. Right now he's still dealing with this emotionally and waiting to hear more information.

In the summer it's safer to continue to the tram instead of turning around at flatrock (6,000 feet). Even safer is turning around while still in the low desert. I did this once in July. It was warm and I just didn't feel good. Turned around at about 3,000 feet.

by **NormaR** » Tue May 19, 2009 2:05 pm

so sad. condolences to his family and friends.

i did a local hike on Saturday near me and drank over 2 liters of water in 4 hours. without that water the heat would have been intolerable.

Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

Heat Stroke on Skyline 5/17/09

Heat Stroke on Skyline 5/17/09

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