Hikefest Day 6. Cerro San Luis overlooks downtown SLO, notable for the large “M” prominent on its northeast face that stands for Mission High School just across the 101 freeway. The trail ascends steeply at first up a slope that appears to be more gentle, then tapers into a more gradual climb once the route reaches a fire road that leads to the summit. The peak was quite the popular destination as we had plenty of company on the trail up, mostly hikers but a few mountain bikers as well. It was warm on the south and west sides as we were in direct sunlight and without much shade, and we welcomed the north breeze as we rounded the western shoulder of the mountain. As we neared the top, we had a number of options on which road/trail to take – we chose the northernmost track that seemed to be the most gentle. At the top is a large platform where we understand they do Easter Sunday services, and the rocky summit is just to the east of the platform. After picking our way up among the rocks, we enjoyed the views for a while before clambering down. For the return trip, we chose to scramble down a rocky but pretty alternative single-track, popular with mountain bikers, that winds its way around the east and north sides of the mountain, eventually rejoining the main trail along the south slope – this route was much shadier but the footing was much trickier. BlackBerry photos only.