Hike: Echo Mountain Hike

Pretty nice hike even for a warm low 80’s day. About half the trail has
pockets of shade which is nice so it’s not a constant beating from the sun.
The top of the hike has some renmants of this old railway building or
something like that so there’s something to see when you’re up there. Plus
there’s a device to test your echo-ing skills. Plus there’s a picnic area
with tables which is really nice. Too bad we didn’t know about it and
didn’t bring a lunch.
I can see why this is a popular hike.

2.5 one way

Hike: Temescal Canyon Loop

I really liked the Temescal Canyon Loop in Pacific Palisades. It has a 1000 feet elevation gain and the way I went it was decently steep. It takes about 2.5 hour and pretty easily accessible. To save on parking, just park on the street near the park, there should be plenty.

Also the hike has decent amount of shade but you will still want to take a hat as some places are totally exposed.

Hike: Yosemite Half Dome

Whew, it’s a looooonnnngggg hike. It took my gf and I ~15 hrs. The gf had blisters on her feet/toes so it was hard for her to walk and really hard for her to walk down steps. That was the main reason it took us so long. Plus we took a wrong turn on one of the trails going up so that made us lag along with burning energy.
I felt OK with the hike. I was pretty pumped up going up so adrenaline carried me up. The view from the top of Half Dome is pretty amazing. Wish I could’ve hung out there longer. We started at 7am and didn’t get back until 10pm in the pitch black.
I didn’t think the climbing or coming down the cables was that hard but it was scary for the gf.

Tips for Half Dome:
Carry at least 3 L of water. gf ran out of water and I drank all of min.
Go the long route: take the John Muir Trail.
Don’t bring gloves for the cables, there is a stack of gloves there.
Bring a flashlight in case.