Got moving a little after six. Bugs were bad from the start. I wore my rain jacket, head net and even gloves for the first half of the day. These mosquitos are relentless. It got better though, when I got to the Elk Lake Resort junction at 11 the mosquitos just vanished. I couldn’t believe. I definitely took the opportunity to sit down and take a break. I also had amazing cell reception there so I updated my blog and surfed the web. 

Sonic came up from Elk Lake while I was breaking. Turns out she did a 50+ mile day and got ahead of me. She hadn’t done any miles at that point so she took off. It was incredible to hike with no mosquitos finally. I guess they were right about it getting better after Elk Lake. However, I heard they’ll come back later on. Oh well. 
My goal was to hit a flat 40 and find a tent spot. The trail was pretty easy but had some small climbs at the end. Finished the day at 8:45 when I walked by a small lake. There’s other non thru hikers here as well. It was great to be able to set up camp without the bugs. I even got to sit down and eat my usual dinner. Also didn’t have to murder a dozen mosquitos in my tent. 
I only have about 15 to Big Lake tomorrow. I should be there by lunch time, I heard there’s no store so I hope the food is good. Also can’t wait to shower and do laundry