Hey, I finally remembered to ask you about that podcast you recommended. I started listening to the episode about urban farming and honestly it blew my mind. I had no idea how much food you could grow on a small balcony. My roommate is already planning to build a vertical planter. We picked up some seeds over the weekend and we are going to try tomatoes and basil first. If it works out we might try peppers later in the season. The whole episode made me rethink how we use space in the city. I also loved the part where they interviewed that chef who only uses locally sourced ingredients. It was super inspiring and honestly made me want to cook more from scratch. Let me know if you have listened to any other episodes from that series. I would love to get more recommendations because I am totally hooked now. Anyway talk soon.

I saw your question about the hiking trail we took last weekend. The best starting point is definitely the north entrance because it has a much wider parking lot and the path is clearly marked from there. We started around 7:30 in the morning and the weather was perfect. The first two miles are mostly shaded which helps a lot. There is one steep section about halfway through but it levels out and the view from the top is absolutely worth it. We packed sandwiches and ate lunch overlooking the valley. The whole loop took us about four and a half hours with breaks. Make sure you wear sturdy shoes because the path gets rocky near the summit and there are a few stream crossings where the rocks can be slippery. Also bring plenty of water because there are no refill stations on the trail. I hope this helps you plan your trip. Let me know if you want to borrow my trekking poles.