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Mulungu
11-09-2017, 17:11
To all the wise hikers out ther ... here is the Dilemma

my wife (Dandelion) got the AT symbol tattooed on her calf as inspiration for her to finish the thru hike. I say she is wrong

i say you you can only get the tattoo when you have completed the hike. You don’t wear the T-shirt unless it is earned.

please help

TNhiker
11-09-2017, 17:13
its her skin----its her tattoo.......

Sarcasm the elf
11-09-2017, 17:15
its her skin----its her tattoo.......

Pretty much.

Personally if I were into that sort of thing I'd opt for making an AT symbol brand out of some wire and heating it in the fire on trail.

Sarcasm the elf
11-09-2017, 17:18
Then again, Baltimore Jack used to say to never buy all your maildrop food ahead of time because if you get injured in Georgia, the last thing you want is to get home and have 3,000 Poptarts sitting in the corner laughing at you. That advice might be applicable to this situation as well.

rocketsocks
11-09-2017, 17:28
Hey, as long as it’s schpelled write.

johnspenn
11-09-2017, 18:25
If she has to rely on a tattoo to motivate her to keep hiking, it might not go well. It's just a mark on your skin, and will become simply "part of the scenery" after the newness wears off.


However, I'm sure she has motivations outside the tattoo (or she wouldn't be hiking in the first place), and wish you both the best on your thru.

KCNC
11-09-2017, 18:31
Why not get the line work done as inspiration, then have the color applied to celebrate completion?

Hmm, I think I might be on to something...

HooKooDooKu
11-09-2017, 18:37
TYOT

(Unless you're not a tattoo artist, then perhaps you should pay a professional to do it)

TNhiker
11-09-2017, 18:41
TYOT

(Unless you're not a tattoo artist, then perhaps you should pay a professional to do it)





thats funny cause i has written out almost the same thing but then deleted it...

i had more of saying "a scratcher".............which is a term an tattoo artist refers to someone who is just scratching one out on the skin (like prison tattoos)...

Christoph
11-09-2017, 18:45
I met a few that made it to HF and got theirs. Same idea I reckon. Personally, I'll get mine in a week or 2 after having finishing this year. To each his (or her) own I guess, I wanted to wait. Same as ordering the 2000 miler certificate.

map man
11-09-2017, 19:36
I don't believe there's anything inherent in the AT symbol that requires the whole trail to be hiked. When I see an AT tattoo I simply conclude that the Appalachian Trail is important to the person with the tattoo. So I am siding with your wife:D.

Alligator
11-09-2017, 19:46
To all the wise hikers out ther ... here is the Dilemma

my wife (Dandelion) got the AT symbol tattooed on her calf as inspiration for her to finish the thru hike. I say she is wrong

i say you you can only get the tattoo when you have completed the hike. You don’t wear the T-shirt unless it is earned.

please helpHold off on adding the year.

John B
11-09-2017, 20:36
I think it would be of greater motivation if she got only half of the AT tattoo at the beginning, the idea being that she can't have it finished until she actually finishes the trail.

KCNC
11-09-2017, 20:50
I think it would be of greater motivation if she got only half of the AT tattoo at the beginning, the idea being that she can't have it finished until she actually finishes the trail.

That's the intent of my suggestion of doing line art now, coloring in later.

tawa
11-09-2017, 21:00
I have the AT symbol on the back window of my truck and have only completed 700 miles thus far---so no big deal.
Pick your battles---this is small stuff! Encourage her and go with it.

swjohnsey
11-09-2017, 21:37
Never! Tramp stamp.

rocketsocks
11-09-2017, 22:09
Get a henna, save some dough.

Sarcasm the elf
11-09-2017, 22:24
Never! Tramp stamp.
By definition, all tattoos inspired by vagabonding are tramp stamps. ;)

Old Hiker
11-09-2017, 22:31
You are seriously telling your wife what she can and can't do?

BEFORE going into the woods alone together for an extended period of time with NO witnesses?

Good luck on THAT. I mean, your AT hike, of course.

capehiker
11-09-2017, 22:48
First- let’s squash the notion that one must be a through hiker to get a tattoo. I know lifelong section hikers (including myself) who have put more time and work into the AT than a one and done through hiker ever will.

rocketsocks
11-09-2017, 22:52
Hey if it don’t work out, just tell folks it stands for All Terrain :D

Elaikases
11-09-2017, 23:16
First- let’s squash the notion that one must be a through hiker to get a tattoo. I know lifelong section hikers (including myself) who have put more time and work into the AT than a one and done through hiker ever will.

and


You are seriously telling your wife what she can and can't do?

BEFORE going into the woods alone together for an extended period of time with NO witnesses?

Good luck on THAT. I mean, your AT hike, of course.

I really could not say it better.

StichBurly
11-10-2017, 00:14
That's exactly what I did on my 2014 NOBO hike. 40885

StichBurly
11-10-2017, 00:16
Pretty much.

Personally if I were into that sort of thing I'd opt for making an AT symbol brand out of some wire and heating it in the fire on trail.
That's what I did on my 2014 NOBO hike.
40886

John B
11-10-2017, 06:13
That's what I did on my 2014 NOBO hike.
40886
That looks to have been insanely painful.

Lone Wolf
11-10-2017, 07:49
kinda like folks who have a news article done about their upcoming thru hike then they never make it out of georgia. tattoos are foolish

garlic08
11-10-2017, 08:17
And as far as arguing with a spouse about something like this, always remember that "You can be right, or you can be happy." Your choice.

Don H
11-10-2017, 08:44
I passed on the tattoo and just got the patch. Cheaper, easier and less painful.

StichBurly
11-10-2017, 09:25
That looks to have been insanely painful.

Believe it or not the actual branding didn't hurt at all. Healing on the other hand was uncomfortable at times.

Mulungu
11-10-2017, 09:34
And as far as arguing with a spouse about something like this, always remember that "You can be right, or you can be happy." Your choice.
Well i am normally a very happy hiker .i need to point out that i played no part in her decision to get the tattoo done. It was a birthday gift to her from our children. (It was her idea) as to motivation i think the idea here is that now i have the tattoo i need to do the thru hike. ( I suspect she will do it anyway) I think it looks very good.

40889

grubbster
11-10-2017, 09:55
I think it is a little too late to ask when to get the tattoo! "I told you so" never goes well with a spouse.

Sarcasm the elf
11-10-2017, 10:51
That's what I did on my 2014 NOBO hike.
40886

Ha! You may have been part of the group I got the idea from!


I saw it in a trail documentary a few years back, think it was one of Squatch's Flip Flop Flippin videos.

rocketsocks
11-10-2017, 12:30
That's exactly what I did on my 2014 NOBO hike. 40885great way to get an infection and send ya packin’

rocketsocks
11-10-2017, 12:33
Further...if you feel the need to brand yourself to fit in, wow! just wow.

Sarcasm the elf
11-10-2017, 12:44
Further...if you feel the need to brand yourself to fit in, wow! just wow.

Still seems smarter than people who fit in by buying crap from Gucci and Coach.

rocketsocks
11-10-2017, 12:54
Still seems smarter than people who fit in by buying crap from Gucci and Coach.
They can always change their evil ways and go Wally World...wait, scratch WW.

gpburdelljr
11-10-2017, 13:03
Why get a tattoo on your skin, the memories will always be tattooed on your mind.

Berserker
11-10-2017, 13:12
People get tattoos as a symbol of something they like or that has some deep meaning to them all the time...doesn't mean something has to be completed to get it. A good example is bands. Look at all the people with KISS tattoos, none of them are in the band so should they not have gotten the tattoo? They got it because they love the band, and are avid followers of the band. Without them KISS wouldn't even be known.

Disclaimer: I'm not a KISS fan by the way...this example just popped into my head for some reason...probably because I heard "Lick it Up" recently and was laughing about it...anyway I digress...

So I say if your wife got the tattoo, she likes the AT and she hasn't finished it, so what. Personally if my wife were that into the AT, I'd just be excited that she's that gungho about the AT.

Berserker
11-10-2017, 13:25
That's exactly what I did on my 2014 NOBO hike. 40885
Holy ****!!! Either you guzzled a bottle of Jack Daniels before that or you have an incredible pain tolerance.

rocketsocks
11-10-2017, 13:48
I found these helpful, and they seem to have an underlying theme of giving up ones self.

brand
brand/
noun
noun: brand; plural noun: brands


1.
a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name.
"a new brand of detergent"


synonyms:
make, line, label, marque;Moretype, kind, sort, variety;
trade name, trademark, proprietary name
"a new brand of margarine"










a brand name.
"the company will market computer software under its own brand"


synonyms:
make, line, label, marque;Moretype, kind, sort, variety;
trade name, trademark, proprietary name
"a new brand of margarine"










a particular identity or image regarded as an asset.
"you can still invent your own career, be your own brand"



a particular type or kind of something.
"his incisive brand of intelligence"


synonyms:
type, kind, sort, variety, class, category, genre, style, ilk, stripe"her particular brand of humor"














2.
an identifying mark burned on livestock or (especially formerly) criminals or slaves with a branding iron.


synonyms:
identification, marker, earmark"the brand on a sheep"









archaic
a branding iron.



a habit, trait, or quality that causes someone public shame or disgrace.
"the brand of Paula's alcoholism"








3.
a piece of burning or smoldering wood.
"he took two burning brands from the fire"



literary
a torch.








4.
literary
a sword.






verb
verb: brand; 3rd person present: brands; past tense: branded; past participle: branded; gerund or present participle: branding


1.
mark (an animal, formerly a criminal or slave) with a branding iron.


synonyms:
mark, stamp, burn, sear"the letter M was branded on each animal"









mark indelibly.
"an ointment that branded her with unsightly violet-colored splotches"


synonyms:
engrave, stamp, etch, imprint"the scene was branded on her brain"









describe (someone or something) as something bad or shameful.
"the do-gooders branded us aspolitically incorrect"


synonyms:
stigmatize, mark out; Moredenounce, discredit, vilify;
label
"the do-gooders branded us politically incorrect"















2.
assign a brand name to.
"branded goods at low prices"



the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design.
noun: branding

rocketsocks
11-10-2017, 14:43
Truth be told I could care less what someone does with their body, just posing an alternative point of view.

Fireplug
11-10-2017, 20:51
You go get a tattoo. "THE OTHER HUSBAND". Lol

colorado_rob
11-10-2017, 22:16
Myself and every mountaineer I know would never ever get souvenir, t-shirt, cap, whatever, before making summit, it's just not done. AT is different, but I treated it the same, bought an AT necklace at cool hostel in Maine, but didn't wear it until katahdin summit.

Still working on getting AT tat.. Really want one, but I always feel special at gym being only person there not covered in ink...

rocketsocks
11-10-2017, 23:33
If Jurek would’ve drank the champagne before the summit, he’d likely not have the troubles that followed...but that’d have been wrong. :D

StichBurly
11-12-2017, 01:36
great way to get an infection and send ya packin’

Lol :banana

shelb
11-13-2017, 19:32
I don't believe there's anything inherent in the AT symbol that requires the whole trail to be hiked. When I see an AT tattoo I simply conclude that the Appalachian Trail is important to the person with the tattoo. So I am siding with your wife:D.

As a section hiker with close to 1000 miles completed, I agree!

Greenlight
11-13-2017, 23:08
Then again, Baltimore Jack used to say to never buy all your maildrop food ahead of time because if you get injured in Georgia, the last thing you want is to get home and have 3,000 Poptarts sitting in the corner laughing at you. That advice might be applicable to this situation as well.

Thank you for that. I needed it this evening. :)

Greenlight
11-13-2017, 23:12
I wouldn't say she's "wrong" because you don't ever tell a woman that if you hope to live to a ripe old age. Know what I mean?

However, I have the same urge and I'll tell you how I'm going to handle it. My tat, which I'll be getting soon on my right calf, is of a boot print. The middle of the boot print has room for a logo or a symbol.

AFTER I thru, the AT symbol will be added in.

Then a second boot print will be added, and if I finish the PCT, that symbol will go inside the second boot. Same for the CDT.


To all the wise hikers out ther ... here is the Dilemma

my wife (Dandelion) got the AT symbol tattooed on her calf as inspiration for her to finish the thru hike. I say she is wrong

i say you you can only get the tattoo when you have completed the hike. You don’t wear the T-shirt unless it is earned.

please help

Gambit McCrae
11-14-2017, 13:09
I don't see why a completion is required. I have spent the greater portion of all my spare time for the past 4 years completing the trail. If the west side boys came along and cut my leg off tomorrow....I feel I have walked enough of it to earn a tattoo. Likewise people get POW tattoos that were not personally prisoners of war, Pink ribbon tattoos to pay respects to those who have suffered cancer..not actually having cancer themselves.

So go for it...get the tattoo whenever you would like.

Francis Sawyer
11-14-2017, 13:44
It's like wearing a Harley-Davidson tee shirt when you can't tell the difference between a knucklehead and a shovel head .

Francis Sawyer
11-14-2017, 13:46
To use a sports analogy; You don't get a ring if you lose in the playoffs.

middle to middle
11-14-2017, 14:57
Whatever floats your boat !

Grampie
11-14-2017, 23:32
In my estimation, getting a AT tattoo is like a reward for successfully hiking the trail. If you don’t finish, you don’t get the prize.

evyck da fleet
11-15-2017, 01:16
Wait, so all those people with AT license plates and bumper stickers are fraudsters or doing it for motivation to thru hike?

People can put whatever they want on their skin, car etc for whatever (stupid) reason they want. I’ve learned it’s best not to ask.

Deacon
11-15-2017, 06:24
When I was halfway done with the AT and got to the ATC center in Harpers Ferry, the lady behind the counter was perfectly willing to sell me a 2000 Miler rocker patch. It was only two dollars or so, but couldn’t buy it because it was too sacred. That had to wait until I had completed the trail.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

MtDoraDave
11-26-2017, 16:13
I know a girl who plans to thru hike, has not yet stepped on the trail, but already has a tattoo.
I've now completed 25% of it, and I wait.
To each their own. Shrug

MtDoraDave
11-26-2017, 16:17
Also, years ago in the military, my instructor gave tattoo advice:(condensed)
Get pic or drawing of tat you want. Look at pic or drawing daily for 1 year. Get it if you still want it after that year.
.
I still don't have a tat... But have been working on an AT design for a while now.

tawa
11-26-2017, 18:00
How about suggesting that she get a white, blue or yellow blaze above her butt crack!!
Let me know how that works out for you dawg! lol

Dogwood
11-26-2017, 18:56
Then again, Baltimore Jack used to say to never buy all your maildrop food ahead of time because if you get injured in Georgia, the last thing you want is to get home and have 3,000 Poptarts sitting in the corner laughing at you. That advice might be applicable to this situation as well.

Well, if you're buying 3000 poop tarts, an easy enough junk food to readily locate, to mail ahead for an AT thru that says something in itself. :cool:

If the tat inspires her that's what inspires her. It's her hike perhaps just as so perhaps even more so if you or someone else she initially anticipates completing quits. :-?

Vanhalo
11-27-2017, 10:12
Tattoos scream poor judgement....unless it's a military insignia.

People who own pit bulls seem to love them.....

ALSO

people who own pit bulls have poor judgement.

Traffic Jam
11-27-2017, 10:35
Tattoos scream poor judgement....unless it's a military insignia.

People who own pit bulls seem to love them.....

ALSO

people who own pit bulls have poor judgement.

Your specious reasoning is quite amusing, thanks for the laugh. :D

Vanhalo
11-27-2017, 10:59
Your specious reasoning is quite amusing, thanks for the laugh. :D


Perception is 99% of reality.

Glad you were amused.

RockDoc
11-27-2017, 19:17
Don't let the AT tattoo Nazis rule over you. Be free.

Why are some thru hikers so intolerant and regimented? Sorry, Bud, we don't have to conform to your ideas about how things should be done. There's as many ways as there are people.

JeffreyH
11-28-2017, 06:50
As for me, there is much more motivation in completing the hike after getting a tattoo. Getting which is somewhat painful, BTW.

People tattoo themselves, and there is nothing terrible about it.

Moreover, that's not the type of tattoo she has to deserve to get (like prison tattoos), so why can't she get a tattoo before she finishes the hike?

Puddlefish
11-28-2017, 10:03
I had the following conversation about tattoos while on the AT with my older hiking buddy. Paraphrased because I have a bad memory.

Him: I just don't understand why people get tattoos. They look trashy, don't add anything, and just bother me.

Me: It's kind of like why people drive convertibles, they don't really add anything, they're just a style statement that makes the driver happy.

Him: I drive a convertible... (I had no idea he drove a convertible!)

Him: Yeah, that I can see what you're saying.


Also...

its her skin----its her tattoo.......

+1


Also... I can't think of any piece of art I'd want to see every single day, not even my kid's names (I'd get sick of the font,) but that's me, so no tats for me. I've seen neat tattoos, and ugly tattoos on other people, but... they aren't getting them to please me. As I've gotten uglier myself, I judge people a whole lot less on appearance. Wish I'd learned this earlier in life.

colorado_rob
11-28-2017, 12:18
Don't let the AT tattoo Nazis rule over you. Be free.

Why are some thru hikers so intolerant and regimented? Sorry, Bud, we don't have to conform to your ideas about how things should be done. There's as many ways as there are people. Seems kinda snarky depending on what you are calling "nazi".... The OP asked our opinion on when getting a tattoo is appropriate, some of us said only after completing the AT as a kind of reward/souvenir. That's not being Nazi, just saying what our own preferences are. I also see the logic on getting one first as a motivation for completing the trail! Makes sense. But I'd only get one pre-trail if I really thought I had the stuff to complete a long trail. A first time or beginning hiker wouldn't know this.

It goes without saying, yet everyone always says, of course it's one's own call for him/herself.

If you are referring to all the anti-tat remarks, I kind of agree that some of the anti-tat wordings are kind of extreme...

Anyway, I have zero tats, but fully intend on eventually populating my legs with completed major hike tattoos, probably just the simple trail logos, and modestly small. AT (done!), LT (done!), CT, PCT both TBD, probably that would be enough tats.

Khs777
11-28-2017, 21:40
I have a small tat on my right ankle, sometimes I forget it's even there as it's hardly ever visible. It's something that has always and will always have meaning for me. Once I've completed the AT I plan on getting a small memorial tat on my left ankle. Here again it will hardly ever be seen by anyone, but will always be there to remind me of my time on the trail and the accomplishment.

GolfHiker
01-15-2018, 12:48
Late response, and a fun read. Like others have said, it's up to each person to decide, if, when, where they might get a tattoo. I respect those who do and those who don't agree with tattoos of any kind, for any reason. I'm 65, never had one, never considered one, but I decided to do the AT symbol on my right calf upon completion of my hike in August '17. I waited about two weeks, got the tattoo and am glad I did. It's just the right amount of subtle, invites a comment now and again, and makes me feel good about my accomplishment.

Gotta love our AT community!

Ragnar GA-ME 16'/'17

dudeijuststarted
01-15-2018, 13:12
I got mine after my thru hike but had done plenty of section hiking before (and after) that. Thru hiking is WAY overrated. If you love the trail and it means something to you, get the tattoo. It will help you find like minded people and be a constant reminder of one of the most wonderful places on earth. Much more meaningful than barbwire or some other nonsense.

Vanhalo
01-15-2018, 13:35
To all the wise hikers out ther ... here is the Dilemma

my wife (Dandelion) got the AT symbol tattooed on her calf as inspiration for her to finish the thru hike. I say she is wrong

i say you you can only get the tattoo when you have completed the hike. You don’t wear the T-shirt unless it is earned.

please help

Whenever I complete my NOBO and SOBO i'm getting one of these for each arm.

41585

Not.

Grampie
01-15-2018, 15:36
Getting a AT tattoo is you have not thru-hiked is like getting , USN with a anchor and never been in the navy.

Traveler
01-16-2018, 08:17
Silly debate. Everyone knows tattoos make a statement, so make a good one! A tattoo with the apex of the A at the top of the nose bridge, the top bar of the T across the eyebrows and the bottom bar of the A across the upper lip. Be sure the AT insignia is at least a half inch wide.

Perfection.

Thefurther
01-16-2018, 08:29
so someone cannot get the a.t. symbol tattooed because they have not finished the trail ??? i'm lost on this one ..

linus72
01-16-2018, 10:39
people usually get tattoos for things that are special to them and bring meaning and happiness to them when they see them. (of course some get dumb ones during a night of partying but those are the regrettable ones). you don't need to have completed something, like a thru for instance to have an A.T. tattoo. Rediscovering the trail years ago, and having hiked hundreds of miles each season and several states since, including +/-100 hrs each year volunteering with my local A.T. maintenance club on the same section in southern new england, I added a small A.T. logo on my arm above a compass i already had there. It makes me smile, is a great conversation starter that also helps me get others interested in exploring the trail and maybe even volunteering, and is a special momento to something very special to me, and all of us. The trail isn't only there for thru hikers, and they are not the only ones who should be worthy of a tattoo, if they completed it. I one day plan to complete it, but i have a full time job and kids to raise as do most of us section hikers. I give back to the trail as much as humanly possible in the meantime close to home as its manageable. Millions enjoy the trail each year as day, section and thru hikers. Why the competition and elitism? The trail wasn't ever designed exclusively for thru hikers. That attititude really irks me, as does FKT records. Maybe read some of the history on Avery and McKaye, and their original intents for the trail. Just because Shaffer and Granny Gatewood thru'd and it became a bit of a craze in the last 20 years. doesn't mean that's what the trail is specifically for. I admire those that have the time and the perserverence to do it. But I don't feel it makes them better than anyone else out there enjoying it. And unfortunately you find that attitude out there amongst thrus, many of whom never hike again, let alone volunteer to preserve the trail.

Sarcasm the elf
01-16-2018, 11:03
people usually get tattoos for things that are special to them and bring meaning and happiness to them when they see them. (of course some get dumb ones during a night of partying but those are the regrettable ones). you don't need to have completed something, like a thru for instance to have an A.T. tattoo. Rediscovering the trail years ago, and having hiked hundreds of miles each season and several states since, including +/-100 hrs each year volunteering with my local A.T. maintenance club on the same section in southern new england, I added a small A.T. logo on my arm above a compass i already had there. It makes me smile, is a great conversation starter that also helps me get others interested in exploring the trail and maybe even volunteering, and is a special momento to something very special to me, and all of us. The trail isn't only there for thru hikers, and they are not the only ones who should be worthy of a tattoo, if they completed it. I one day plan to complete it, but i have a full time job and kids to raise as do most of us section hikers. I give back to the trail as much as humanly possible in the meantime close to home as its manageable. Millions enjoy the trail each year as day, section and thru hikers. Why the competition and elitism? The trail wasn't ever designed exclusively for thru hikers. That attititude really irks me, as does FKT records. Maybe read some of the history on Avery and McKaye, and their original intents for the trail. Just because Shaffer and Granny Gatewood thru'd and it became a bit of a craze in the last 20 years. doesn't mean that's what the trail is specifically for. I admire those that have the time and the perserverence to do it. But I don't feel it makes them better than anyone else out there enjoying it. And unfortunately you find that attitude out there amongst thrus, many of whom never hike again, let alone volunteer to preserve the trail.
Well said, and thanks for giving back.

linus72
01-16-2018, 11:33
It is a pleasure and a privilege! Heck I’ve even gotten some ‘official’ responsibilities as of late, furthering my ability to give back and help others to enjoy it at whatever capacity they can and meaning I can devote even more time to it. I started out a quite bit naïve myself as a newbie and through the process have learned a lot of useful advice I can give back in my adventures to other hikers. This magical trail has changed my life for the better and I enjoy every moment of it, rain or shine! I have also learned a lot of useful information on this site through you all. So thanks for that!

JJ505
01-16-2018, 12:43
OP strikes me as someone who would rather be "right" than happy.