Welcome - glad to hear you had such a great trip. Going with someone who knows what they're doing really helps - and your friend really must know, since he/she limited the mileage and the number of nights, and chose a beautiful spot. The whole idea of a first trip is to get someone hooked, not "make a man" out of them (I got ostracized from the local Scouting brethren for pointing this out, and they continued sending their charges on 17 mile death marches up and over a mountain, with little water and nothing to really look at - but they did it without me.)

Anyhow, back to you. Keep at it, and post frequently!