Typically, a few of us scatter to find the next marker. Soon some find orange ribbons. They are informed that only white ribbons will lead us on the real Banadero trail. All the other colored ribbons will take us straight up to the base of a cliff where there are a couple of shallow caves. Soon we are locating more white ribbons. Waldo is barely visible amongst the vines, and trees. The trail is a little difficult to find at some places, but we continue to look for white ribbons.
Rexplorer emerges from his search for the trail and join the team. The trail is now pretty clearly marked.
The rest of the group have been waiting outside the trailhead, but once the trail has been discovered, they soon join us. Here Ewok, Thor, and Marcia make their way through the boonies.
Part way up the hill, Waldo and Rexplorer take a break.
Spotting the white ribbon on the tree branch, Giggles and Marcia follow on the trail.
Ewok and Giggles take a break further up. The climb up gets quite steep.
Sparky also rests.
We know we are on the right track when we reach the first lookout point. Here the rebar "fence" keeps Waldo and Thor from stepping further toward the straight drop down the cliff.
While Waldo and Thor take a moment to enjoy the view, Marcia and Giggles rest on the rocks. As the trail levels off, we are almost at the top plateau.
We know we will need to go through a field of Cadena de Amor vines. But we are surprised to find that the whole field has expanded and completely covered the previously accessible trail. Hikers start to disperse to find the exit to this creeper crawler field.
Giggles climbs over a big clump of vines to track down a possible trail.
Yay, Marcia and Thor almost reach the "clearing".
Sparky finds his way to join the rest of us for a break through.
After clearing the vine field, we continue to search the elusive white ribbons. The trail is more or less blocked by the overgrown grass and some fallen branches. When we reach this lookout point, we know we are headed the right way. Waldo takes a good look down the Marpi coast, while Sparky and Marcia continue marching. The trail eventually becomes more clear, and we are able to find the exit and meet up with Rexplorer who has gone completely off trail and comes out on top of the mountain further down the road.
The breeze is wonderfully cooling, and the park on the top is quiet. We find this shady spot under the tree to rest, talk, and enjoy the snacks. Reclining are: Thor, CC, Rexplorer. Sitting are Sparky, Marcia, Waldo, Giggles, Ewok.
Instead of returning downhill on the trail, we opt to take the road the long way. The view is nice and the sun is not too hot. Marcia and Giggles display their new hiking leg wear fashion.
On the way down the road, we see a monitor lizard trying to camouflage among the tree branches.
Happy that the hike is a good workout. Total time including getting lost in the vines, and snacking, is about 4 hours.
Thor's Strava recording indicates the distance covered as 4.5 miles, although the time indicated is only less than one and half hours. That is the actual moving time.
Elevation gain is 674 ft.
It was a very invigorating hike, and we are very happy to be able to return to one of our favorite trails.
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