Day 2 of MorroFest 2013. We had designs of getting up early and heading into San Luis Obispo before it got hot – so much for that as we didn’t leave Pismo until 9:30, arriving at the Cerro San Luis trailhead about 10:00 after picking up some sandwiches at Subway (our traditional staple on the trail). After filling our Camelbaks, we set out under partly cloudy skies and a fairly constant breeze that kept the rising temperatures bearable. The trail here climbs steeply in places as it gains the base of the mountain over the first half-mile, then turns west to meet an access road coming up from Laguna Lake to the south – we would then follow the road around the west side of the mountain, eventually curling south and east to reach the summit right at two miles from the trailhead. The trip up was pretty uneventful – it was nice that the sun stayed hidden most of the hike, as we recalled our last trip here in November 2011 that was quite warm in the sunshine. We encountered far fewer hikers than at Bishop Peak yesterday, so perhaps the forecasted heat kept folks at home on a Saturday morning. We got our hopes up as we approached what appeared to be the summit, only to discover that the road circled around and beyond it. In short order, we reached the summit area, passing the large platform where Easter services are held each year and scrambling up the rocky outcrops to the summit block itself. It was quite breezy at the top, and several buzzards and maybe a hawk or two were using the wind to speedily soar back and forth across the mountain’s south face – many of their passes came quite close to us. We headed back shortly after 11:00, reaching the trailhead before noon – one down, two to go. We hiked Cerro Cabrillo in November 2011 as well, and we both remembered well all the poison oak we had to avoid on that trip – with that in mind, Chris swapped his short sleeves for a long-sleeved shirt and we drove out through Los Osos to the trailhead along Morro Bay. There were a number of cars in the parking lot, most likely those associated with a large group of rock climbers (perhaps a club or a class) that were working on a formation of cliffs north of our trail. After watching for a short time, we resumed our walk east up the Quarry Trail along a narrowing path lined on both sides by tall poison oak (that has definitely become the theme of the weekend, hasn’t it?) – after maybe 50 yards, the path widened a bit so we didn’t have to be so conscious about keeping to the center of the trail. Just short of a mile from the car, we found the spur trail that heads north to a saddle on the ridge east of the summit proper, then turns left to reach the summit via the ridge. Here, what was once a well-maintained set of switchbacks (at least according to the map – the remnants of the old trail are in poor shape) has devolved into a series of steep, deeply rutted pathways that are as much ravines and creekbeds as they are a trail. We picked our way up to the ridge, once there getting some of the breeze that had earlier died off considerably, and continued west up the ridgeline. Once we got above Tiki Rock (the signature formation that resembles the statues on Easter Island), the trail became lost amid the summit rocks – we searched for the various paths we had used the last time, but poison oak was everywhere. After it appeared we really couldn’t reach the summit without a risky bushwhack (with our Hawaii trip so close, we don’t want to be treating rashes now that may take a few weeks to heal), we decided this was close enough (perhaps 30 vertical feet short of the summit) and turned around. The steep trail was doubly difficult on the descent, but neither of us broke our neck (though Chris came close) and we soon found ourselves back on the main trail headed west. Passing the climbers again, we reached the van without incident, immediately leaving for the Black Hill parking lot just a mile or so away. We had been this way last summer, driving most of the way up the hill after being unable to locate the longer trail that heads up the hill’s south side. This time, we found the trail but decided to drive up again – two more round-trip miles were best avoided at this point. The trail from the Black Hill parking lot is a mere seven short switchbacks that lead 1/4-mile up to the summit – we were to the top in about 5 minutes. Although this is by far the easiest morro to reach, it yields some of the best views of the whole chain – south to Morro Bay and Montana de Oro, east to Cerro Cabrillo and Hollister Peak, north to Cerro Alto, or west to Morro Rock, the vista is captivating. That said, the trailer back in Pismo was calling loudly, so after snapping a few pics on the summit we headed back to the car, returning to the trailer by about 3pm. This was a great two days – it showed us that we could confidently tackle multiple short hikes on the same day (which is what we’ll be mostly doing on Maui), and it reacquainted us with areas that we have simply driven past the last year and a half.