Yesterday was nice and relaxing. After meeting up with my parents we ate, checked-in to a Holiday Inn, and went to see World War Z. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was definitely better than I was expecting.
Today they dropped me back off at the trail around noon, after leaving some redundant gear and picking up a couple of odds and ends. It was an immediate uphill climb, but I was only doing 10 miles so I didn't have to worry about conserving energy. My friends the bugs were absent for a while, but showed up to say hello again after I was nice and sweaty. I criss-crossed paths with a couple hikers during my travels, and when I finally found my shelter it was beautiful and bug-free!
I had the place to myself for a few hours before more hikers began piling in. The first person I met was Shrek, which was amusing because I had received a text from my mom saying that they had given him a lift to the trail. We chatted for a bit, and shortly after BMW arrived, followed by Bogey and Ledge. The group made for a boisterous evening of card playing and storytelling until the stars came out. A great reminder of how much fun you can have if you find the right people.
