From North County Times:

“RAMONA —- Four hikers suffering from heat exhaustion were rescued Saturday in Cleveland National Forest, officials said.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection workers responded at about 4 p.m. to reports that hikers had suffered heat exhaustion on the Cedar Creek trail, CalFire Capt. Daryll Pina said.

He said rescuers drove to the hikers and rescued them along with one of the two dogs they had taken on the hike.

The other dog died because of the heat, he said.

Ramona Community Emergency Response Team volunteers were at the trail head to provide shelter and water to hikers who braved the 115-degree heat reported in areas of the canyon, Pina said. He said rescuers have responded to more than a dozen heat-related injuries on the trail during the last three weekends.”

This brings me back to my rant on my hike to Cedar Creek Falls. If it’s hot, start early and bring plenty of water. Or try a more moderate trail.

Be careful out there and make smart decisions, people.

The view from the trail to Peak 4159, Oak Benchmark on the right and Viejas Mountain in the distance

Oak Benchmark
Elevation: 3,965′
Miles: ~1

Peak 4159
Elevation: 4,159′
Miles: 1.5

Ant Benchmark
Elevation: 3,920′
Miles: 1.8

Peak 1546
Elevation: 1,546′
Miles: 3.4 (4.5+ total to the falls and back)

Once again, I set out to summit multiple peaks in a day. The hiking distance to each peak would be fairly short, but, over the span of the day, the mileage would add up.

In my trip reports, I will use the name of benchmarks as the mountains themselves, though I do understand that the benchmark itself is a marker permanently fixed into a rock, I will use the benchmarks names and the mountains interchangeably, since I like to call the mountain something in my descriptions. This is specifically true when the benchmarks are at the highpoint of the mountains, since this benchmarks are not always at the summit.

This time, I had the PD with me, as we both are getting some hiking in to train for our upcoming Mount Whitney trip. The only limit to what we could do was the fact that we were to meet some friends at Cedar Creek Falls in between 12 and 1 PM. For most of the day, Cuyamaca Peak loomed over us on the horizon, beckoning us to its slopes.