Hiking To-do list

November 8, 2010 / Kyle Sun / 0 Comments

Today I got a chance to think of my hiking plan. The result is a to-do list w/ notes and a wish list.

MOST IMPORTANT:
BE PREPARED! HIKE SMART!

To-Do list

  • Grand Canyon Rim-river-Rim (Done)
    • I’ve done one-day hiking twice thru three most popular trails – South Kaibab Trail(partial), Bright Angel Trail(partial) and Plateau Point Trail.
    • Looking forward to doing a rim-to-rim hiking around next May starting from South Rim
    • Wish to do another one from North Rim, and one crossing
    • `The earliest you can apply for a permit is the first of the month, four months prior to the proposed start month.`
    • Best late May – early June.
    • 20+ mile round trip and ~5,000 feet elevation difference between rim and river
    • Remember to check water station
    • http://www.squidoo.com/rimtorim
    • Should apply for the permit at the very first day. Grand canyon backcountry office told me they already received crazy 1k+ permit requests at the time i faxed them permit request on Jan.4th.
    • Done the 2-day Rim-River-Rim hiking via South Kaibab – Phantom Ranch – River Trail – Bright Angel Trail (~20mi and 5000 ft) w/ Bingran, Yizhi, James, Raj and Steffan at June 3-4, 2011.
  • Grand Canyon Rim2Rim
    • Go down from south rim to river and back to north rim. It says that the view from north rim is incredible.
  • Half Dome – Yosemite (Done)
    • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half_Dome
    • Is a must-do in Yosemite
    • 8.3 mi hike (one way), a day or two
    • Permit required on 7 days a week! (400 max, 4 months ahead)
    • Cable route is class 3, sounds exciting
    • Done on Aug.21, 2011 w/ Rajesh, Steffan, James
  • Subway – Zion
    • Most popular in Zion NP, permit needed (3 month in advance, 50 max)
    • 7-9 hours hiking in water, 60-foot rope might needed as handline, dry bag needed
    • A car / shuttle needed
    • Some friends told me it not as hard as the Narrows that i did
    • Check weather for flash flood forecast
    • http://www.climb-utah.com/Zion/subway.htm
  • Wonderland Trail – Mt. Rainier
    • 93 mi loop, 45,572 feet elevation change, 10-14days
    • Very challanging as you can tell!
    • Best at mid-July to early-September (snow free)
    • http://www.oboeguide.com/mora2003/
  • Mt. Whitney (Done)
    • 22 mi RT, 6,400 feet elevation gain, day trip
    • Highest summit in the lower 48 states!
    • Permit required
    • High altitude effect
    • Done the day hike with Roger, James, Yizhi on Aug.26, 2012

A wish list is kinda like a dream list – something not feasible in the near future

      • Appalachian Trail
      • Continental Divide Trail
      • Pacific Crest Trail
        • All of three are long distance, 2,000 mile to 3,500 mile
        • Usually takes 4-6 months to finish one of these
        • Triple Crown of Hiking – finish all of three, 7,400 mile, 1,000,000 feet,  22 states

Well, i realize all above trails are in the US. I’ll expand the list as soon as i level up my knowledge 🙂

(last updated: Aug 27, 2012)

Things to do in San Francisco

September 3, 2010 / Kyle Sun / 0 Comments

http://cduruk.posterous.com/things-to-do-in-san-francisco

Check how much i havnt done.

BLUE – WILL DO
GREEN – DONE

RED – WONT DO

  • Go to Alcatraz and definitely take the audio tour.
  • Tour Fishersman’s Whart. It is touristy and cheesy, beware.
  • See the sea lions at Pier 39 at Fisherman’s Wharf.
  • Get some clam chowder at Boudin in Fisherman’s Wharf. Beware, it’s a lot of food.
  • Talk with the street performer by Ghirardelli’s. Ask him to sing in any language you want (Turkish, Russian, Mandarin and German works)
  • Visit the wineries in Napa Valley. Better if you take a tour instead of driving there yourself.
  • Bike the bridge to Sausalito. Be amazed how much it resembles Istanbul.
  • Go see a concert in Mountain View Amphitheater. I recommend The Fray.
  • Buy some sundae from Ghirardelli. Beware that they are ridicolously sweet; probably want to share it with someone.
  • Go see the painted ladies (not what you think) and reminisce about Full House.
  • Get some food at In-n-Out. Bonus points for off-menu items.
  • Eat breakfast at Pat’s in North Beach. Maybe not as fancy as Mama’s but there’s not a 2 hour waiting line.
  • Eat some Italian food at Cafe Zoetrope (owned by Francis Ford Coppola).
  • While there, visit some of the bars on Broadway and then eat drunk-food at Golden Boy Pizza.
  • Go to Mission and hang out with the hipster crowd. I recommend the hookah bar on Valencia.
  • Visit Baker Beach. Beware of the nudists (or join in).
  • Go to a bonfire on Ocean Beach on a sunday.
  • If you see a Tesla roadster on the road, try to take a photo of it and have the driver smile at you.
  • Find friends who work at start-ups based in the city so and have BBQ parties on the rooftop.
  • Go to Chinatown and buy some Chinese food that looks scary.
  • Find a friend who has sailing license and sail in the bay with your friends. Beware, it’s windy but awesome still.
  • Drink some fancy tea at Samovar (by Metreon, ask around)
  • Take the cable car. (but be ready for the long waits)
  • Go to one of the Nightlife parties at California Academy of Sciences on a Thursday
  • Visit MOMA and want to buy every single thing at the gift shop.
  • Eat a fried chicken sandwich at Bakesale Betty. There’s a line but it moves really fast. And it is worth it.
  • Hang around at Union Square at night. It’s very fancy.
  • Go to Dolores Park. That place gets interesting at night.
  • Listen to some random people playing music at Union Square.
  • Find a street festival (Haight and Ashbury was fun) and go there.
  • Walk through Tenderloin at late night. Bonus points for making it home safely.
  • Eat some tasty burritos in Mission at Taqueria Cancun.
  • Go to a GitHub meetup and drink some Scotch on your favorite repo’s dime
  • Sit next to the founder of your blog software on the bus (and don’t realize it).
  • Go to Marina district. I haven’t figured out what to do there yet.

So many places i need to check out in San Francisco!

Here is i did/plan to do on top of those

  • Go to 17-miles Drive/Big Sur, take photos
  • Watch Blue Angels flying on top of your head as part of air show.
  • Visit De young Museum, see an exhibition
  • Drive down Lambard Street
  • Do a parallel parking on uphill/downhill
  • Go to japan town, watch a movie in Japanese/Chinese
  • Attend one parade on any traditional Chinese festival
  • Chill at night waiting for Caltrain/whatever
  • Biking trip in Napa
  • Pass a tunnel to Lands End, trying to see the Far East 
  • Climb up the Filbert Steps toward Coit Tower
  • Check out 16th Ave tiled mosaic steps
  • Hiking at Muir Woods. Take the long, windy roads to get there.
  • Crabbing at Berkeley/Pacifica/Golden Gate Bridge/Bay

Last Updated: Apr. 12th, 2011