A man from Delaware suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday morning and died while hiking on Skyline Trail in Hawk Mountain.

According to Schuylkill County Deputy Coroner Albert “Bud” Barnes, the hiker, Rick D. Medlock, was hiking with two friends when the medical incident occurred around 10 a.m. An emergency call was made and several fire companies from Schuylkill and Berks counties responded.

Hawk Mountain lies in both counties, so it was not clear which county the man was in at the time of the incident. After he was found in Schuylkill County, Barnes was called at 11:30 a.m. to the scene.

Barnes said Medlock was in his early 60s and his friends said he was an experienced hiker, hiking a couple times every week. Skyline Trail is one of the most difficult trails and one of the highest trails in Hawk Mountain, Barnes said. The 90-degree temperature was also a factor.

Medlock and his friends were more than 5 miles into the woods when the trouble occurred. Volunteer firefighters from Schuylkill County worked to reach the scene from Bear Creek Drive, while those from Berks County worked from Hawk Mountain Road.

Barnes said he traveled with emergency crews about 3½ miles on four-wheelers to reach the base of three rock faces they had to climb over in order to reach Medlock. From the base of the rocks to the hikers, it was another two miles, he said.

“I really want to thank the firefighters,” Barnes said. “It wouldn’t have been possible to get him out if it wasn’t for them. They were amazing.”

A helicopter recovery was considered, but the firefighters decided to carry him out. In all, there were about 30 firefighters from New Ringgold, West Penn, Deer Lake, Auburn and Landingville and Berks County who aided in the recovery. The official time of death is 1:58 p.m., he said. And the recovery ended at 6 p.m.