A Redlands man who started an attempt Friday evening to traverse a 40-mile loop route on the spine of San Gorgonio Wilderness high country and Yucaipa Ridge turned back before reaching San Bernardino Peak, he wrote in an update online.
Paul Melzer, 56, a seasoned mountaineer and endurance runner, was intending to bag 24 peaks in 24 hours in an effort to help raise funds for the Wildlands Conservacy of Oak Glen. Melzer told Patch May 24 he works as a fundraiser for the conservancy.
"Friends, I just want to say that I'm okay, and will be assessing just what happened as the weekend moves on," Melzer wrote Saturday on his blog 24n24. "Suffice to say, I fell far short of my expectations."
Melzer, who departed from his start point in Mill Creek Canyon around 6:30 p.m. Friday, wrote that he turned around just before the first summit in part because temperatures were in the 30s, and he found the initial 6,000-foot ascent on his route exhausting while his body was wanting to shut down for the night.
Continuing "ever further 'out there' felt unsafe at that point," Melzer wrote. He safely returned around 4 a.m. Saturday. Melzer may attempt the same loop route next month, counterclockwise, with a morning start via Yucaipa Ridge.
To read more on Melzer's latest blog entry, posted Saturday May 25, visit 24n24.blogspot.com/2013/05/humbled-part-one.
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