Date: 2018-05-11
From: Campsite past Vandeventer shelter

To: Low gap campsite
Miles today: 14.1

This morning laziness kicked in and I didn't really want to get out of my tent. It was warm and cozy. Everything was dry too. As I lounged it suddenly started raining and my rain fly was wet once again. The rain stopped after 5 minutes. I ate poptarts and coffee for breakfast. Theo made sure to visit each of us even if we were at a different part of the camp site.The hike today was pretty flat. We were hiking along the ridgeline. It did get up into the 80s as well. I talked to Scissors and Pumpkin Spice for a few hours about traveling and lack of diversity on the trail. We've mostly seen a monochromic class view since most people hiking are from the same social economic class. If you see most hiking ads they only depict Caucasians. Someone of color would see that as something not from them. Also hiking in the south through small towns, they could run into more racism. There are probably other reasons but I feel that the trail should be inclusive of all.Scissors mentioned that she wanted to work in other cities for a few months since her job allowed her to do that. She could get a feel for a place. Pumpkin Spice also talked about traveling from place to place. I mentioned I was more in a place were I wanted to stay in one area because jumping around doesn't allow you to create those close friendships. However, being on the trail brings people closer together faster. I knew from my experiences as an expact that people of the same group in a similar situation creates closer friendships faster than if they live in their respective cities in the states.We talked about different religions and how other cultures viewed the world.  Scissors had an assignment in Katmandu Nepal and mentioned seeing Sadhus and thought they were homeless people. Sadhus live that life by choice and have renounced the worldly life.  On the trail we came to a large pasture with Creeping Buttercup flowers everywhere. It seemed like a great place to nap except it was totally exposed to the sun. We heard that there were cows but we didn't see any for a half mile. In the last pasture there was a heard of them grazing. They looked at us with minimal interest. There were also about 4 or 5 baby calf's. I mentioned the time I went to the Minnesota state fair. They had a miracle of birth barn that showed a variety of animals giving birth. There were huge LCD screens that showed the births of the day.  We took lunch at a shady spot. I had lemon pepper tuna on a tortilla with cheez its. Kamikaze and Theo showed up. Theo was happy to have his pack off. He kept flipping over and rubbing his back. As he shifted from side to side on his back he scooted downhill.  It was really funny. We all took naps in the shade and then headed on.  I hiked for a bit with Kamikaze and talked about what caused her to hike the AT. She had no intention of hiking but after the loss of Matt her life took a 180. She had a house and a stable job. After Matt passed away, that all fell apart. She left her job and lost her house. On night she had the urge to put together the site for Matt called Matt's Purple Bandana. http://mattspurplebandana.org. It's a site to raise opiate awareness. Kamikaze also has purple bandanas to give out for her cause. I'm glad she's on the trail spreading awareness.We stopped at low gap tonight just 5 miles shy of the next shelter. We've done enough today and it's time to hit the hay.