On Friday, December 19th at 8:30 AM we will hike the perimeter of Cerro San Luis (Madonna Mtn).  We have not done this since June of 2022, and it will be a remarkable hike.  Russ hiked the trail on December 1st to check it's condition and found it to be excellent.  There are views we do not normally see, such as the Gazebo (pictured below) in a grass meadow surrounded by a small grove of trees.  Russ checked with the Madonna family, and it was built by Alex Madonna as a wedding gift to his oldest daughter Cathie in seventies.  Most of the trail is shaded by trees and one of the trees even has a swing (pictured below) for you-know-who.  The trail is 4 miles long with an elevation change of 573 feet.  The UP way point total is 962 feet.  This places it in between the soft and medium difficulty levels.  It is easier than going up Madonna to the summit because most of the climb is from the parking lot to the edge of the circle in the map below.  On the way back, we pass through the lemon grove below the "M".  The second half of the hike has multiple trail options which are NOT identified.  Unfamiliar hikers without GPS navigation will almost certainly take wrong turns.

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To Get There We will meet in the Marsh Street Parking lot identified in the picture below.  From the south, exit Hwy101 on Marsh St. crossing the Higuera/Marsh intersection.  Double back on Higuera via Carmel St. to the Hwy 101 South on-ramp.  Just before entering 101, turn right onto Fernandez Rd and immediately turn right again into the parking area.  From SLO take Higuera St. to the Hwy 101 South on-ramp.  Just before entering the freeway turn right onto Fernandez Rd. and right again into the parking lot.