Day 105 & 106- We has just over 12 miles to get to the trailhead, since we JD to be there by noon we needed to leave by about 7am to make sure we get there without having to kill ourselves. We leave a little late, which makes sense because they didn’t get in until super late. The trail is mellow today. No large uphill or downhills just needing to move. We weren’t moving very fast and it was making me anxious. I finally got some signal and asked Chris to meet us at 12:30 since we would be a little behind. We stopped at a creek to get some water, I didn’t want to rest. I am very big on not being late. I find it super rude and disrespectful. I have never met Chris, he is my friend Sarah’s dad, and I didn’t want to have him just sitting and waiting for us. So after the water I just took off. I walked over 3mph until I got to the trailhead. There I met a woman who was with a group trail running. She gave me some water and chatted while I waited for Chris. And Tim and Freckles. Soon I see a man near a truck, and assuming it’s Chris go up and say hi. And it is. I’m in the beating sun and it is just breaking me down. I need more water. I hope we can head down soon. About 15 min later Tim appears. Freckles was having some pain so had to slow down but she soon arrived as well and we were off. Chris was amazing to us and his house was beautiful. Tons of big trees around with a beautiful open back yard. Etna is a small town which is nice, it’s easy to get around. Especially since Chris let us drive his wife’s car!! It felt so weird to drive a car after all this time. I felt like I was going about 30 mph and that felt plenty fast enough. We immediately headed to Dottys for 44oz milkshakes and sweet potato fries. Hawkeye and his hiking partner were there. So was Nonstop. She apparently arrived only like 2 min after us but was able to get a hitch. The next day we had planned to head back to the trail but decided to take a 0 day instead. So while Chris went to work we watched movies and went to their secret swimming hole. It was AMAZING!!! There was a rope and a couple of small waterfalls. Perfect rest day vibes. We watched a lot of movies, and I made them watch Where the Red Fern Grows, as it was my favorite book as a kid. Freckles and Tim cracked up at the intense country accents in the movie and their old time slang. It was so funny and even to this day we still say to each other in a massive hick accent, “Tahlequah! Well that’s half way down the river!” We find it endless funny. Then Chris made us his specialty dinner meal, aka taking us to the Mexican restaurant. He is so kind and has such a massive heart. We all sat and watched another movie together called, Unbroken. Which I’d recommend to anyone. I was hoping to go back and see Chris after the trail, but have yet to do that. Hopefully soon!!!