View Full Version : Trail name question
In short: Could/should a name be given even before a thru-hike?
I ask because my SOBO is 2016. I choose not to give myself a name, I want it to be given. I was hiking with a couple of buddies and the topic of AT trail names came up. They decided to start calling me "twitch" because I suffer from chronic motor tic disorder. Around people, I dedicate energy and focus to not twitch, but at home and hiking my head and neck twitch.
They were not being malicious, but I got a kick out of the name.
That is why I decided to ask for opinions. Can I embrace "twitch" now, or would it be more special to wait for a name on the AT in 2016?
You're overthinking the matter.
johnnybgood
05-10-2014, 12:09
If you like it then go with it. FWIW , It's a trail name I actually haven't heard before.
bigcranky
05-10-2014, 14:11
Use it. If you wait for the trail to give you a name, you end up with Mud Butt or Farts with Wolves, etc.
Ok thanks. Wanted to be sure it was not taboo.
Spirit Walker
05-10-2014, 16:52
A lot of people choose their names before they hike. It's one way of making sure you have a name you can live with. DH used his old CB handle from 20 years earlier.
Patrickjd9
05-11-2014, 21:13
Use it. If you wait for the trail to give you a name, you end up with Mud Butt or Farts with Wolves, etc.
I waited through about 600 miles of section hikes before getting mine, Slapshot. I think I did OK.
Shakespeare 1990
05-12-2014, 22:31
I think it's great to wait. Don't settle for a bad trail name. But don't give yourself a lame name. Take your time and be choosy.
Me...I got lucky. Duffel Bag Tim was in quite the thoughtful mood that night in north Georgia. He wasn't going for laughs but was actually paying attention to who I was.
Shakes
bighammer
05-12-2014, 22:37
Whatever works for you.
I guess I'm known as bighammer just about everywhere, so why not on the trail? My son will have to come up with something, though.
SouthernHiker
05-12-2014, 23:18
Thanks for asking this question. I had sort of been wondering the same thing to, ultimately deciding it was my name and could get it however I wanted.
The wife and I are doing a section hike in June from Springer to Clingmans, and I have no trail name yet, but she definetly earned hers this weekend while we were doing a shakedown hike in Providence Canyon, Georgia.
She was hiking with her pack for one of the first times and we were going down a steep section of the trail when she said,
"You know, I could just tuck in and Rolly Polly this hill and be done with it." Our last names are close enough to Polly that she is now Rolly Polly ( note: down here that is what we call the little hard shelled pill bugs that roll up when you touch them).
I personally thought earning it while hiking, even if not on the AT, was a great way to earn a trail name.
Josh Calhoun
05-13-2014, 08:48
i gave myself the trail name Rash, i didnt want to give some dirty hippie the pleasure of giving me a terrible name :)
bigcranky
05-13-2014, 10:49
I waited through about 600 miles of section hikes before getting mine, Slapshot. I think I did OK.
Yup, that's awesome.
slbirdnerd
05-13-2014, 15:40
I felt a little silly, as a new section hiker, taking a name so quickly... It wasn't given to me by another person, rather, it dawned on me in a fit of laughter while putting together a trip video in which I realized I slipped and landed on my butt on many (many!) of the never-dry rocks on the GA AT. Henceforth, I shall forever be known as Rock Slide.
Patrickjd9
05-13-2014, 22:34
Yup, that's awesome.
Came from using my cell phone to listen to hockey games in my tent, and cheering rather randomly (from the impression of my neighbors)!
Use it. If you wait for the trail to give you a name, you end up with Mud Butt or Farts with Wolves, etc.
Bwaaahaaahaaa.....that's awesome..
Whatever you do, make peace with it. It's your name, and like someone said before...... names have power I would add: especially the ones you give yourself
And accept that no matter what you do, someone in the wide web-iverse will disagree and criticize that you should have done it differently. That's why the first thing I said was to make peace with it. You will have your trail name and memories of the trail long after you have forgotten any comments from the faceless minions of the net, even me.
Ricky&Jack
05-15-2014, 13:33
My name is Ricky. But Since I go hiking with my Husky dog, jack....... People call me "husky".
Plus if someone down the trail is talking about me, they would say "Have you seen Husky"..... That would easily mean me since Im the one with the husky.
Or somethimes they just say "Husky Jack" to reference me and/or the dog.
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