Hiking, heat don't mix on Placer County trail

An overheated hiker who ran into trouble on the Stevens Trail near Colfax was safely carried out by emergency personnel. Cal Fire reported that firefighters with American Medical Response paramedics hiked 1½ miles down the Stevens Trail into the north fork American River canyon to provide medical help to a hiker suffering from heat-related symptoms. The hiker was treated at the scene and then rolled out on a gurney with wheels sturdy enough for trail use. From the trailhead, the hiker was transported by ambulance to Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital in North Auburn. Stevens Trail is a sometimes-steep trail to the north fork that takes 8 miles to travel down and up. Cal Fire is advising only the well-prepared should attempt the hike. Temperatures rose to the low 90s this past week and were expected to drop to the high 80s through at least Monday. Rescue personnel were also called Monday to the Hidden Falls Regional Park between Lincoln and Auburn for a similar medical emergency, with a hiker complaining of heat-related symptoms on a trail. On Saturday evening, Cal Fire-Placer County Fire Department firefighters, State Parks officers and American Medical Response paramedics were called to a mountain bike crash along the Auburn State Recreation Area Culvert Trail, off Old Foresthill Road. Cal fire reported that a mountain biker was found several hundred feet from the road and loaded into the trail-ready "Big Wheel" with basket and brought out to a waiting ambulance.