From the marker the trail began a steep descent off the mountain.
When I stopped at Niday Shelter to collect some water I met Downhill, the first person I had seen all day. She told me she and Pigpen had camped together last night.
This explains why I didn’t see Pigpen yesterday at Laurel Creek Shelter, as expected.
We talked about where we were planning to camp for the night. Downhill said she and Pigpen would stop at the same spot where I was planning to stop, so perhaps I would see them there. Then she left.
After I completed filtering my water I continued the short distance, less than two miles, to the campsite.
Downhill and Pigpen were not there.
It occurred to me that perhaps we misunderstood each other. They may have walked to another campsite just beyond the one were I had stopped.
The time was early enough that I could have continued walking, but from here the trail would be making a big climb up Brush Mountain.
The trail guide said the next campsite, where I guessed Downhill and Pigpen would be, was small and only had space for two tents. Making it even less appealing, there was no water source near that campsite.
No one was near where I was stopped, and I thought it would be nice to camp with Downhill and Pigpen. But if the space was as small as described, I feared my presence might make the two young women uncomfortable.
I decided to stay where I was and save the long climb for tomorrow.
Additionally, after looking at how far I had gone today, I realized I had walked a satisfactory amount of trail for one day. More importantly, despite some difficult sections of trail, I wasn't walking as slowly as I thought I had been. I wasn’t losing focus or energy, as I had feared.
I had a large campsite all to myself, so I took my time looking for an ideal spot to set up my tent.
Later, a couple of hikers stopped to look at the site, but I don't think they saw me because I was a couple hundred yards from the trail. They decided to move on.
Once again I was by myself, but I didn’t mind. The location was pleasant, the nighttime temperature was comfortable, and I was satisfied in my effort today.
I was in a good spot, no longer feeling unmotivated.
