There is a mountain in the distance…I see it every day. For over half a decade I have had a desire to climb to the top. Santiago Peak, sometimes called Saddleback Mountain, has haunted me few a few years. It has a tough trailhead (have to drive on gravel roads for about 4 miles; sometimes the creek washes out these roads). The official trail is about 16 Miles round trip, with the first 8 miles climbing about 5500 feet of elevation gain.
I tried to visit once before(2013). I found the access road, but gave up after some really scary driving.
A few Saturdays ago I decided to see what I could now do. To solve the issue with the access road, I simply decided to hike the additional 8 miles.
The first 4 miles of gravel roads were peaceful (except for when cars went rushing by).
As I made it into the Cleveland National Forest the trees became more plentiful, providing nice shade. I was having fun. I finally found the Fire Station that marks the nearby trail head for the Holly Jim trail, named after a foul mouthed bee keeper. It was starting to get really hot (80-90 deg F) outside.
I walked up past some mountain cabins and found the Falls Trail. As the trail started to get steeper, I deployed my new trekking poles. Up I went, after about 18 switchbacks I started to wonder if I was actually making any progress. I did see quite a few people on the trail. Most looked like the heat was getting to them.
About 3.5 miles up the peak, I started running dangerously low on water. I know the risks of dehydration so I called the hike and turned back.
