# Day 8: Haunted Wasteland ## Part 1 You're still riding a camel across Desert Island when you spot a sandstorm quickly approaching. When you turn to warn the Elf, she disappears before your eyes! To be fair, she had just finished warning you about **ghosts** a few minutes ago. One of the camel's pouches is labeled "maps" - sure enough, it's full of documents (your puzzle input) about how to navigate the desert. At least, you're pretty sure that's what they are; one of the documents contains a list of left/right instructions, and the rest of the documents seem to describe some kind of **network** of labeled nodes. It seems like you're meant to use the **left/right** instructions to **navigate the network**. Perhaps if you have the camel follow the same instructions, you can escape the haunted wasteland! After examining the maps for a bit, two nodes stick out: `AAA` and `ZZZ`. You feel like `AAA` is where you are now, and you have to follow the left/right instructions until you reach `ZZZ`. This format defines each **node** of the network individually. For example: ``` RL AAA = (BBB, CCC) BBB = (DDD, EEE) CCC = (ZZZ, GGG) DDD = (DDD, DDD) EEE = (EEE, EEE) GGG = (GGG, GGG) ZZZ = (ZZZ, ZZZ) ``` Starting with `AAA`, you need to **look up the next element** based on the next left/right instruction in your input. In this example, start with `AAA` and go **right** (R) by choosing the right element of `AAA`, **CCC**. Then, `L` means to choose the **left** element of `CCC`, **ZZZ**. By following the left/right instructions, you reach `ZZZ` in 2 steps. Of course, you might not find `ZZZ` right away. If you run out of left/right instructions, repeat the whole sequence of instructions as necessary: `R`L really means `RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL...` and so on. For example, here is a situation that takes `6` steps to reach `ZZZ`: ``` LLR AAA = (BBB, BBB) BBB = (AAA, ZZZ) ZZZ = (ZZZ, ZZZ) ``` Starting at AAA, follow the left/right instructions. **How many steps are required to reach ZZZ**?