why do people have "trail names"??

[Chubbs4U]

you dont possibly want anyone to know the real you?

[Sleepy the Arab]

I am who I am.

[johnnybgood]

I am who I am.

Welcome back Sleepy .

[hikerboy57]

when Im on the trail, I introduce myself as andy.because i try to get out as much as my schedule will allow, Im know at work as "hikerboy". Im sectioning from springer to DWG beginning march 1, 2012, and Ill probably go as hikerboy unless or until someone retags me.You dont have to take a trail name, but one may get assigned to you anyway. in truth, most thrus dont name themselves, its a nickname given by their fellow hikers.

[Tilly]

I don't use a trail name, and I got lots of crap for it when I was out. It was very annoying.

[atrerunner]

I'll offer this first-hand observation from 39 years ago: I met two women through-hikers in VA who were NOBO, and they introduced themselves with two Lakota Sioux names (which i don't remember and probably couldn't spell correctly if I could remember). Since they were not Native American in appearance, and i had never met a hiker with a culturally-disonant name, i rudely asked why they had chosen these names, and they replied that their adopted names made them feel "more at one with the Trail". One young lady (the shorter one) had a Sioux name that translated as 'Little Mountain', and the taller woman had taken on a name that translated as 'Bear', according to them. I remember that they also said that they were not signing any of the registers, and that they were avoiding shelters as much as possible. I only met about six or eight of the folks who through-hiked that year, since i started really early, but everyone else i met who introduced themselves claimed a 'real' name, i.e., Charlie, Alex, John, Mark, Joe, Ed and one or two others. I hope that the two self-trail-named women reached Katahdin, but i don't know if they did since i was ahead of them for the rest of the summer.

[Ladytrekker]

When you are in the woods you leave the crazy I look at a trail name as your alter ego you don't have to be the real world person which in my mine lets you check out leave your shoes at the door and its kind of like Alice falling thru the rabbit hole a whole new world. I got the moniker while on a hike "Rabbitdillo" because in a distance I stated that I see a rabbit hopping until we got closer it was an armadillo jumping over tall grass.

[Leah Packard Grams]

Water Monkey! That's a good one. I like it.

[Patrickjd9]

With the advent and heavy use of "screen names" it seems now that even weekend hikers think they need a "trail name". Most often self supplied.

A name just has to come to you. I was hiking for over 25 years before I had one, weekend and section. Mine, "Slapshot", came from text messaging back and forth to my wife to follow a hockey game on a section hike a couple of years ago.

[camojack]

Why do people have trail names? Because they can...

[XCskiNYC]

Alan is totally cool. Whatever you want. Nicknames are just a quick, colorful, easy way to remember the many people you'll meet throughout a day of hiking. Some folks get into their heads the sterile notion that everybody has to have a trail name.

[MuddyWaters]

Some name themselves. Some have names bestowed upon them by others. Some are cool, some are repulsive. They are fairly unique identifiers. More unique that Mike, John, Lisa, etc for sure.

Not really different than giving a boat a name, or a CB handle, etc.

Sometimes a name is what the person feels their alter-ego is. Sometimes it is who they think they will become once on the trail, or who they'd like to become. Sometimes it is who or what they are in real life.

[Old Hiker]

...........................Sometimes it is who or what they are in real life.

Ow. I resemble that remark. And my trail-name,too!

[KC7FYS]

When I'm on the radio, I'm KC7FYS, 7J1AWL, or XV2OC. Other radio guys can look me up and know exactly who I am and lots of details about me. I guess I gave up anonymity for that. I don't find anonymity to serve us well at all, actually. People tend to do and say things they can't stand behind when they know there's no skin in the game. Over on Hammock Forums I've felt out-of-place saying I'm "Jonathan," but I guess it's going to be that. My wife and mother call me Johnny, though. I don't care for anonymity. Alan, you're cool. Fronkey and Shug and Felchmeister_37--you guys are cool too!

[restlesss]

I think it is both a fun way to identify yourself but also a good way to get away from the normal living in "civilization" you go to the woods to get away that is one way to do that.

[sbhikes]

I knew a guy whose trail name was Al.

I thought the trailname thing was really great fun. But now I don't really want a trailname anymore because I feel silly. I'm "me", not "fake me".

Anonymity is the main reason for a trailname. I'm not very anonymous with my trailname anymore, especially now that my mom uses my trailname as part of her own trailname (she's a trail angel on the PCT). So if I want anonymity I can almost get it using my real name. If I want real anonymity I will have to get a totally different trailname.

The sad thing about trailnames is you and your friends disappear after the trail. I will never know how to contact those people I met because I don't know who they really are and they'll never contact me because they don't know who I am either. I guess some people want it that way, but if you don't want it that way, consider letting people you like know your real name, maybe give them a card with your email address or something, so you don't lose all your new friends after the hike is over.