Merge pull request #10 from henryjburg/drafts

Add San Francisco '22 trip

content/blog/2022-08-16-grand-canyon/index.md

@@ -4,14 +4,18 @@ date: "2022-08-16"
 archive: false
 ---
 
-We landed in Las Vegas, and drove through the night to catch sunrise at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ.
+We first landed in Las Vegas, and drove through the night to catch sunrise at the **North Rim** of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ.
 
 ![gc_north_rim_1.png](gc_north_rim_1.png)
 
-This is me sitting on the edge of the canyon, a bit more up-close and personal with the canyon.
+Here I am on the edge of the canyon, a bit more up-close and personal with steep drop.
 
 ![gc_me.png](gc_me.png)
 
 Another view of the North Rim for good measure!
 
 ![gc_north_rim_2.png](gc_north_rim_2.png)
+
+The North Rim and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon have different entry points depending on how you approach the park. It's worth noting that the South Rim is the more "touristy" side, and the North Rim is a little quieter (but no less spectactular). There's also cabin accomodation and a restaurant with views over the canyon.
+
+One can hike down and through the canyon to the other side, but this isn't typically a day hike. Check conditions and plan to split the hike over two days, the inclines on the North Rim are brutal, and I'm confident the South Rim wouldn't be much better! Still, worth doing if you have the ability.

content/blog/2022-08-22-mt-whitney/index.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ archive: false
 ---
 
 Reaching the summit of Mt. Whitney is one of my favourite personal achievements. For context, Mt. Whitney (14,505ft) is
-the tallest peak in the contiguous (lower) 48 states in the United States and is located in Inyo National Forest, CA.
+the tallest peak in the contiguous (lower) 48 states in the United States and is located in Inyo National Forest, CA. Compared to Australia, Mt. Whitney is almost *double* the height of our tallest mountain, Mt. Kosciuszko (7,310ft)!
 
 ![mt_w_c_h.png](mt_w_c_h.png)
 
@@ -27,5 +27,6 @@ and had hiked through the night.
 
 ![mt_w_summit_view.png](mt_w_summit_view.png)
 
-There were moments along the way: we lost the trail at one point, Carl started to have symptoms of altitude sickness the night before we went for the summit, and
-I had issues with my shoes that same day. Despite the challenges and moments, we made it up and down in one piece!
+There were some fun moments along the way: at one point we completely lost the trail, Carl started to have symptoms of altitude sickness the night before we went for the summit, *and* I had issues with my shoes that same day. Despite the challenges and moments, we made it up and down in one piece!
+
+You can do the day hike from Whitney Portal, but this requires a permit and is a very challenging route. Start times varies from about 9 PM the night prior if you were planning to catch sunrise from the summit. If you have the flexibility, I would recommend taking a day or two extra to reach the summit.

content/blog/2022-08-25-half-dome/index.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ date: "2022-08-25"
 archive: false
 ---
 
-Half Dome was easily the biggest adrenaline rush I had during my time in Yosemite National Park. I was fortunate enough to get lottery
+Climbing Half Dome was easily the biggest adrenaline rush I had during my time in Yosemite National Park. I was fortunate enough to get lottery
 passes to do Half Dome after applying only a day or so before!
 
 ![hd_me.png](hd_me.png)

content/blog/2022-09-21-san-francisco/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+---
+title: San Francisco, CA
+date: "2022-09-21"
+archive: false
+---
+
+Booked a few months in advance (meaning I almost forgot about this trip after the previous adventures in California), I went to visit some friends who had moved to San Francisco. I was looking forward to a more "metro" trip experience, enjoying the coffee and pastries rather than hiking and exerting myself!
+
+![mission_dolores_park.png](mission_dolores_park.png)
+
+I stayed with my friends who were living in the Mission district at the time. **Mission Dolores Park** was well within walking distance and absolutely worth walking through. If you walk right to the top of the park, you have this great view over the park and on a clear day you can see well to downtown SF.
+
+![tartine_bakery.png](tartine_bakery.png)
+
+Stopping in for coffee and almond croissant from the esteemed **[Tartine bakery](https://tartinebakery.com)** was a must-do!
+
+![ferry_building.png](ferry_building.png)
+
+The **[Ferry Building](https://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com)** is an iconic piece of SF which houses many specialty vendors in a market-style arrangement. There is good food in there also, and you are able to keep walking along the pier. If you have all day, you can walk the entire way from the Ferry Building around to the Golden Gate Bridge. It's about 8.5km walk, however you are walking alongside water the entire time!
+
+![gg_bridge.png](gg_bridge.png)
+
+The **Golden Gate Bridge**, of course. It does get quite congested walking along the bridge, be careful for folks moving fast alongside you. Nearby the café, there's a cross-section of the cable which gives you an interesting idea of the engineering and materials behind the bridge! It's easy to take public transport from the bridge back to downtown.
+
+![coit_tower.png](coit_tower.png)
+
+Another activity worth doing for the views over downtown is **Coit Tower**. You can ride the iconic trolleys to get there. Be warned, there's a few steps involved, but the view is worth it on a clear day!
+
+![painted_ladies.png](painted_ladies.png)
+
+Finally, to cap off a busy but sight-filled trip, the **Painted Ladies**! These were only a short walk from where I was staying in the Mission district.
+
+I really enjoyed this trip to San Francisco, there's plenty of iconic sights that are all very accessible if you are staying in proximity to downtown SF. I think SF has its challenges (what US city doesn't...), but there's still a culture and experience in SF that is unique and worth consuming. Beyond SF, you're in great proximity of some driving trips to parks and locations like Yosemite, Monterey, and Big Sur!

content/blog/2022-11-19-joshua-tree/index.md

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ It was an amazing experience being so isolated with such a beautiful landscape a
 ![jt_tree.png](jt_tree.png)
 
 The following day, I hiked around 8 miles to exit the park. I then headed to an interesting little trail that went
-inside one of the large rock piles around the park and through what was known as the "Chasm of Doom". I was drawn to
+inside one of the large rock piles around the park and through what was known as the **"Chasm of Doom"**. I was drawn to
 this partly due to the name, but also the challenge - you needed to squeeze yourself through a gap between two rocks
 hardly 1 foot apart!