Tales of Madonna Mountain

Sarah Simon

I've always felt a sort of special connectivity to vibes. Whether it's intuition, sense of fear or a first impression vibes are coursing all around us. There's something especially spectacular about feeling something from higher up. With this in mind, my husband and I decided to go up on a Sunday. With the dog in one hand, and lots of water in the other off we went on the quest to the ultimate SLO high spot: The M.


As we headed up Madonna Mountain, also known as the Cerro San Luis Trail, the trail continuously curved through the ins and outs of the lavish green hillside and blooming wildflowers.


We stopped below the power lines to further embrace the depth of our surroundings and although fairly steep this 1.5 mile trek overlooks the SLO valley from multiple perspectives. Before we knew it we were at the M screaming and shouting, "Can you believe it!"  As we overlooked the endless stretch of mission style homes and buildings, the clouds shaped a perfect outline of the bubble that is San Luis Obispo.  I couldn't help but be grateful to live in such a beautiful place.


In the midst of the excitement I asked my husband to hike to the top of the M for a picture. The M, which we assumed stood for Madonna Mountain, is actually a white painted canvas for Mission College Prep High School. Constructed in 1966 this SLO symbol encompasses hard work, determination and success. As my husband hiked up the significantly high hillside to reach the top, dog and water bottle precariously in hand, time stood still.  Chakk-chackk-chak-chak, chak-a-chak-akk-chk-chk-chk, swish, bustle, swish, swish.



Silence.


The water bottle. Gone. From the top of the M to no man's land in a flash.


Just as the dog almost fled the scene to retrieve said bottle my husband was already crawling down the large wooden M and into the brush.  I couldn't see or hear anything that was happening and thought for sure I had lost both bottle and husband.


"Found it!" came wafting from below.  Still out of sight, the pooch and I anxiously awaited the return of our hero.  And just like that, my husband beat gravity at it's own game and with the same determination and explorative drive used by the M's creators, we basked in the SLO vibes with water bottle, dog and each other safely in hand.