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Flash Hand
12-15-2003, 16:19
Hi

I really don't plan to post another new thread but I always want to know how you guys adopted trail names, like, Hammock Hanger, Flyin Brian. Do they give you names or you created your own? I was trying to think of better trail/hiking name that fit my character. Or, do anyone of you adopted the name after you hiked the trail?

Also, I intend not to leave this whiteblaze.net because I felt that I am already a family with you and other hikers in here. It came to my understanding if I change the name, I have to delete Lil Allan account for a new name which I don't really up for that. I do hope there is a system that I can just change the account name but the information, profile and joined dates remains the same.

I had considered Deaf Hiker as a new adopted trail name but I can still consider for other names... So, any ideas will be very apprecriated. =) I was trying to find if any other hikers called themselves similar to mine, i.e. Amputed Hiker?

You can also share your story on how you got your adopted trail name. So I can continue my enjoy reading here too :)

Lil Allan

chris
12-15-2003, 16:38
I got the trail name of Suge (as in short for sugar) or sugarmonkey this summer. I won't tell the whole story, but it involved a nice lady in a postoffice, a bunch of beer, and a King of the Hill episode. Beware of giving yourself a trailname before you start hiking: Sometimes people will take the opportunity to rename you with a trailname that you might not like.

smokymtnsteve
12-15-2003, 21:42
I don't hear real well either and niethier does THE WEASEL..

maybe we could call you

WHAT!!! HUH!!!

or

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!!!

Streamweaver
12-15-2003, 22:52
I don't hear real well either and niethier does THE WEASEL..

maybe we could call you

WHAT!!! HUH!!!

or

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!!!
Hell we could start our own club, Im about 80 percent deaf already and with all the relatives I have that are deaf or impaired it prolly wont be long before that 20 percent goes too.

And as far as trail names go, Im not trying to be nasty or smart but I chose mine and thats what people will call me if they want any kind of reply from me!!!
Streamweaver

Bonehead
12-15-2003, 23:08
Will they call me Bonehad if I walk the AT?

bunbun
12-15-2003, 23:38
Will they call me Bonehad if I walk the AT?

Only if you answer to it. :)

Contrary to Chris' advice, I'd tell you to pick your own. And bunbun isn't mine - it's just what I'm using here and a couple other places for reasons of my own.

Picking your own Trailname should involve either what you see yourself as being - or what you would like to become. If you pick something dumb or funny or gross (like maybe Nose Picker?), just picture this - you being in a suit and tie going for a job interview - and the interviewer being someone you hiked with 10 years before - and greeting you by your Trailname. Do you want him to remember you as Nose Picker? Or as something like Red Eagle?

Your Trailname will be with you for a long, long time. Like the rest of your life.

So - like Streamweaver, if someone wants a response from me, they'll call me what "I" want them to call me. If they get insistent on calling me something I don't like, then I "can" get right testy about calling them something they REALLY don't like. And that does NOT involve cussing, racial or ethnic slurs, or reflections on their parentage. It only involves observation of the AIQ - and some imagination. I've only had to use that kind of "attitude" a couple times in my life - one can only hope it won't happen again. :)

Streamweaver
12-16-2003, 00:57
Only if you answer to it. :)

Contrary to Chris' advice, I'd tell you to pick your own. And bunbun isn't mine - it's just what I'm using here and a couple other places for reasons of my own.

Picking your own Trailname should involve either what you see yourself as being - or what you would like to become. If you pick something dumb or funny or gross (like maybe Nose Picker?), just picture this - you being in a suit and tie going for a job interview - and the interviewer being someone you hiked with 10 years before - and greeting you by your Trailname. Do you want him to remember you as Nose Picker? Or as something like Red Eagle?

Your Trailname will be with you for a long, long time. Like the rest of your life.

So - like Streamweaver, if someone wants a response from me, they'll call me what "I" want them to call me. If they get insistent on calling me something I don't like, then I "can" get right testy about calling them something they REALLY don't like. And that does NOT involve cussing, racial or ethnic slurs, or reflections on their parentage. It only involves observation of the AIQ - and some imagination. I've only had to use that kind of "attitude" a couple times in my life - one can only hope it won't happen again. :)

You said it man!!! Streamweaver

smokymtnsteve
12-16-2003, 10:07
as long as they say it LOUD ENOUGH :D

Skeemer
12-16-2003, 10:12
Great respose, I used to be in personnel work and I nearly died laughing at your remarks. With my interest in the Trail, I could picture myself being interested in an applicant who had listed one of his accomplishments as "a thru-hike of the AT."..

So, what's your trailname?...

Why, it was "mouseturd"

Did you earn it or are you just a piece of ****?

BTW, I am not a schemer, although some may disagree. It is a play on my last name.

Footslogger
12-16-2003, 12:30
Well ...when I hiked along with my wife on her thru-hike in 2001 I didn't have a trail name. By day three I was dubbed "Toot" because of my tendency to "off-gas" following just about anything I ate.

When I began to plan my own thru-hike this year I decided that I wanted to have some say so into what my trail name might be. I opened up a thesaurus and reviewed words having to do with "hiking, marching and walking". One word kept showing up ...that of "Footslogger". It had a sort of German ring to it and being of German descent I sort of like that fact. But then I did a web search on the word "Footslogger" and that was all it took. Turns out the name "Footslogger" goes all the way back to midevil times and was used to describe the foot soldier or infantryman. Since I was an old airborne infantryman (prior life) it seemed like a perfect fit ...and the rest is history. In fact, one of my internet "hits" was a site that contained the following poem:



The Footslogger



Here’s to the “footslogger” of the Infantry.
Who in battle has nothing in front of him, but the enemy.
You will fight, take, and hold the ground, Roosevelt said it.
You will win the war, but the Wac, Waves, and Air Corp will get the credit.
For us, there is no wonderful speeches or renown.
We are the queen of battles, but have no crown.


Come all you footsloggers roll your packs,
and put them high upon your backs.
We have a long hike ahead and we have no pay,
But when the day is done all you’ll want is to stop and hit the hay.
You don’t need money, you’ll never get it spent.
For where you go none of our fighters have not yet went.


To take that last cool drink from that French well,
Go out and meet Jerry and by God give him hell.
For with your faithful M1 and bayonet,
You’re the toughest fighter the world has seen yet.


Through artillery shelling and Air Corp bombing,
Jerry will stay,
But to hear the tramp of your advancing feet,
he will runaway.
To see us coming is what they really dread
They even leave their stinking, uncovered dead.


Your buddy is killed, dead and gone,
But his act of heroism will forever live on.
We have just one more long, long trek
And that is on the somewhat lonesome road back.
We gave them hell wherever we went,
They learned we were the toughest yet.


The war is now over, Forever finished and through?
Or will we allow them to rise up and start anew?
If we still have the infantry you can bet,
We’ll again be the toughest they have ever seen yet.
So salute the footslogger of the infantry,
Who in battle had nothing in front of him but the enemy.

The Old Fhart
12-16-2003, 13:13
Lil Allan,
I do have some thoughts on your hiking the trail that I hope may help. Neither my wife or I are deaf but she is a special ed teacher that knows sign and I am the hiker in the family. The trail is basically single file so if you are totally deaf you won’t be able to have a walking conversation with hikers you are with unless you all stop so you can read their lips. That generally isn’t going to be a problem because most hikers don’t walk that heel to toe so they are will be stopping for breaks and to talk as well. One problem could be when you gather at shelters at the end of the day. After dark you could miss all of the conversation unless you have a light like a candle lantern so you can see the faces of the others to lip-read. Most hikers stop to set up and have supper long before dark so that may not be an issue. By the time it gets dark most hikers are in bed anyway. Your big advantage is you can sleep in shelters and not hear people snore! On my ’98 thru hike I only stayed in shelters about 10 times and never slept well when I was in a shelter.
What I think you will find is that you and those hiking with you will make adjustments so you will not have any real problems. On a previous Survivor on CBS there was a deaf member in one tribe and even there where they were back-stabbing they made accommodations. You will find the thru-hiking community very supportive and maybe even be able to teach some of your fellow hikers to sign as well. Most people are interested in learning something new and you do have 6 months for them to practice. Be careful having private sign conversations because you know how it feels to be cut off and you don’t want to make others feel that way. Besides you just might run into others who know sign as well. My wife told me of seeing 2 young boys sign “she’s hot” as a young lady walked by, figuring no one would “hear” them. They were equally surprised and embarrassed when my wife turned to them and signed “so you think she’s hot, do you”
As to a trail name, a lot of people start with one and then get another because of some situation. One hiker I met in ’88 was SuperHook who had a prosthetic arm and hook and was amazingly agile with it. I look forward to seeing him at Trail Days every year and hearing his great stories. My trail name (The Old Fhart) has nothing to do with hiker related flatulence (although some disagreed!) but rather with my age and my rural New Hampshire accent, hence the phonetic spelling. Keep in mind that some trail names may make some people uneasy and Model T, a southern gentleman, would wince and generally introduce me as TOF or say: ”He’ll tell you his trail name”. I don’t think that it is wise to have gender specific names like “Sweet Lil” because there is that remote chance there is some whacko out there reading the registers. Something like “Trail Sign” or “Quiet Riot” that can have a double meaning might be appropriate or the “Deaf Hiker” name you mentioned could save a lot of explaining. I also know a quiet person named “Talks-a-Lot”. If you have the ALDHA directory it lists trail names of the members and scanning that might give you some ideas as well. Keep in mind that there are always lots of Hobbit and animal names used. In ’98 there were 2 Nomads and lots of “Bear” variations on the trail and it got confusing. I’m sure you will find one that fits your unique hiking personality.

Former Easy
12-16-2003, 19:39
The old tradition of other hikers giving you a trail name is pretty much a thing of the past, with more and more hikers naming themselves. All of this has to do with sites like this and other AT sites such as Trail Journals etc....... its a way to be identified before hitting the trail and while on the trail, its not a bad thing at all. Times change and traditions fade away. Its your choice whether you would like to name yourself or have others, just be forewarned if others name you, you might not like the name they chose for you.

Kerosene
12-16-2003, 20:23
Note that section hikers walking outside of the annual social "rush" are much less likely to be given a trail name, especially if they are hiking alone or with a different partner from hike to hike. I adopted a nickname given to me in college (see the third entry in this (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56) thread) and no one has bothered to think of anything better. Plus, I've only heard of one other Kerosene associated with the AT, so it's fairly unique.

uphillklimber
12-16-2003, 21:27
I chose uphillklimber after much thought, as I klimb up a hill faster than I descend it. (Knees). I have worked on that, and I can go faster downhill now. I spell it funny to be distinctive and not have to put a number behind it to sign in at different places. Also, it used to seem like my life was just an uphill klimb.

After a couple trips with a group, and I was always monkeying around and klimbing rocks and trees, they all started calling me monkeyboy. So, with that group, I'm monkeyboy, but I still sign in most places as uphillklimber.

It works both ways. Name yourself, or earn a name, or both....

foodbag
12-16-2003, 21:27
It has been 4 years since I attempted my thru hike. Is the tradition of others naming you really fading away? Bummer! That was one of the key elements of starting out, that is, wondering what your name was going to be. I'm sad to see that one go. (I'll keep my big red stuff sack that gave birth to "Foodbag" as a memento of a happy time...) :-?

Hammock Hanger
12-16-2003, 22:19
Hi

I really don't plan to post another new thread but I always want to know how you guys adopted trail names, like, Hammock Hanger, Flyin Brian. Do they give you names or you created your own? I was trying to think of better trail/hiking name that fit my character. Or, do anyone of you adopted the name after you hiked the trail?

Also, I intend not to leave this whiteblaze.net because I felt that I am already a family with you and other hikers in here. It came to my understanding if I change the name, I have to delete Lil Allan account for a new name which I don't really up for that. I do hope there is a system that I can just change the account name but the information, profile and joined dates remains the same.

I had considered Deaf Hiker as a new adopted trail name but I can still consider for other names... So, any ideas will be very apprecriated. =) I was trying to find if any other hikers called themselves similar to mine, i.e. Amputed Hiker?

You can also share your story on how you got your adopted trail name. So I can continue my enjoy reading here too :)

Lil AllanMy name was given to me at the youth summer camp I worked at because I slept in a hammock on out of camp backpacking trips. Since I was using a hammock on my trip and some of the kids were following my journal I kept the name. Sue/HHhttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/1003.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001)

hacksaw
12-17-2003, 03:03
I don't hear real well either and niethier does THE WEASEL..

maybe we could call you

WHAT!!! HUH!!!

or

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!!!


Hey Steve, remember Plumorchard Shelter early April, 2000, the morning that High Plains Drifter christened me HACKSAW?

(Steve said it was the first time he ever heard anybody snore!)

still Hacksaw!

BTW The Weasel got his name from my daughter! But that's another story!

smokymtnsteve
12-17-2003, 09:23
Yep I remember thast night Hacksaw and right now I'm having coffee with UNCLE GEORGE...remember him???..he still going and going and going!

ever hear from bilbo???

Percival
12-17-2003, 11:28
The old tradition of other hikers giving you a trail name is pretty much a thing of the past, with more and more hikers naming themselves. All of this has to do with sites like this and other AT sites such as Trail Journals etc....... its a way to be identified before hitting the trail and while on the trail. Times change and traditions fade away.

I believe Former Easy hit it on the head.

bearbag hanger
12-17-2003, 23:52
My name was given to me at the youth summer camp I worked at because I slept in a hammock on out of camp backpacking trips. Since I was using a hammock on my trip and some of the kids were following my journal I kept the name. Sue/HHhttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/1003.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001)

Got mine because Hammock Hanger was already taken and my friend LWOP thought I looked like a big bear bag when ever he saw me in my hammock. During my 1997 attempt on the AT I was given the name "Slow Walker". Didn't mind it much then but decided to change it for my 2004 AT attempt.

Anyway, take every one's advise and pick your own name. Otherwise, you'll get something you don't like. If you hear something you like, you can always change it. But be careful with the name you choose. During a section hike in 1999 (I think) ran into a guy who gave himself the name "Extreme Adventurer AT Hiker". We all called him "Stumbling Tom".

MedicineMan
12-18-2003, 01:17
White doing a section hike in Georgia with my oldest daughter, we had spent the night in Hiawassee, the morning of the hike she sees me down a couple of glucosamine, MSM, chondriotin, Celebrex,etc. Later in the day she meets several thru-hikers and gets the gist of trail names. On a break she turns to me and asks why after 30years of AT hiking I have no trail name, she says I should have one and that it is Medicine Man, I ask if it is because I am a pharmacist and she replies 'no, its because of all the drugs you take so you can hike'...I thought it a true and fitting trail name and didnt argue the point, so Medicine Man it is....dont ask me about the Simva part, I cant remember why it is there.

hacksaw
12-18-2003, 10:41
Yep I remember thast night Hacksaw and right now I'm having coffee with UNCLE GEORGE...remember him???..he still going and going and going!

ever hear from bilbo???
Steve,

Hey to Uncle George, and many, many thanks, too! The story of that ride from Rainbow Springs down to Mayretta has been retold many times!

If I were to write a "most unforgettable Person" for Reader's Digest it would be about George. A truely unforgettable man.

Last time I saw Bilbo was a few days after Plumorchard at the Fontana Inn having breakfast. She was headed to the house due to an injury. Never heard from her again.

As I recall yoiu were headed south that day, so you didn't know about the ice and snow that almost took her out going up toward Muskrat Creek Shelter. Almost took ME out, too so I hiked past her and sent help back from M.C. Shelter or I don't think she'd have made it to the shelter. That pretty much took the wind out of her sails.

Mountain climber
12-18-2003, 12:31
When I was stationed in New Mexico with the Air Force (Back in the 70’s) I would always want to go up in the mountains every weekend. (Good duty) Because I liked to hike and camp in the mountains, I was given the name of Mountain Climber by the other guys.
Once I got out of the service, I use the name for a CB handle and after that, I use it for hiking when I got back into hiking some 10 years later. I now use it when I section hike to sign the shelter logs. I love to hike in the mountain and have always liked to climb up or down so the name still applies to my hiking stile but now I am a lot slower.
Because I have had this name for over 30 years, I still keep it for my hiking name.
:-?

bunbun
12-18-2003, 13:03
The old tradition of other hikers giving you a trail name is pretty much a thing of the past, with more and more hikers naming themselves. All of this has to do with sites like this and other AT sites such as Trail Journals etc....... its a way to be identified before hitting the trail and while on the trail, its not a bad thing at all. Times change and traditions fade away. Its your choice whether you would like to name yourself or have others, just be forewarned if others name you, you might not like the name they chose for you.


Uh - guys? What "former tradition"?

I thruhiked in '92 after I section hiked with some of the thruhikers in '90 and '91, my wife hiked in 88 and 92 ---- and to my knowledge, neither of us know more than a handful of thruhikers who didn't pick their own Trail names. Earl Shaffer wasn't named by someone else either - he picked his own.

Tradition? Really? :-?

Former Easy
12-18-2003, 14:23
Uh - guys? What "former tradition"?

I thruhiked in '92 after I section hiked with some of the thruhikers in '90 and '91, my wife hiked in 88 and 92 ---- and to my knowledge, neither of us know more than a handful of thruhikers who didn't pick their own Trail names. Earl Shaffer wasn't named by someone else either - he picked his own.

Tradition? Really? :-?

Well excuse me for using the word "Tradition" Mr. BunBun :D

I will rephrase that to:

The "thought" of other hikers giving you a trail name is pretty much a thing of the past.

Is that better for you Mr. BunBun :D

gravityman
12-18-2003, 15:24
But be careful with the name you choose. During a section hike in 1999 (I think) ran into a guy who gave himself the name "Extreme Adventurer AT Hiker". We all called him "Stumbling Tom".

Ah, yes, twisting trail names can be fun. We met a German who called himself the "Barvarian Marmot." He found Heavy's filter at a stream, and when he gave it back to him he demanded a "finder's fee, as they pay in Germany." (I lived in germany for a year. Never heard of such a thing). And we would say "How you americans just rush rush rush past me, then as I go up the hill you just huff huff huff. Always too fast" Ah, he was good for a laugh (and still makes me smile when I think of all the things he said). Anyway, my wife called him the "Barbarian Varmint" which had me rolling on the ground for hours after she said that.

So yes, be careful what your name can get twisted in to.

jlb2012
12-18-2003, 15:51
was he also known as Bert the Bavarian or was that another guy (a heavy pack)

c.coyle
12-18-2003, 16:56
Earl Shaffer wasn't named by someone else either - he picked his own.

Sonuvagun. I would have thought his mom and dad picked "Earl", possibly with some help from his Aunt Edna. :confused:

sloetoe
12-18-2003, 18:07
Uh - guys? What "former tradition"?

I thruhiked in '92 after I section hiked with some of the thruhikers in '90 and '91, my wife hiked in 88 and 92 ---- and to my knowledge, neither of us know more than a handful of thruhikers who didn't pick their own Trail names. Earl Shaffer wasn't named by someone else either - he picked his own.
Tradition? Really? :-?

("bunbun"??? How 'bout "ji-women" or "new moji"? {"wink" smilie})


In 1979, I don't think *anybody* was named by other hikers, except for the JanSport Hilton Trio (couple worked for JanSport, and so had all JanSport gear, including the huge, and chromatically *loud* "Hilton" dome tent. The gal's younger brother did it for a High School "alternative" year. I believe they made it all the way -- the last I saw them was upon exiting Monson, after not seeing them from Hot Springs...)

Sloetoe
(named, in a very personal vision of pain, ascending Roan northbound with a toe hugely ingrown and dangerously infected, awaiting toe "surgery" at the Damascus clinic. A good if gooey tale...) Just picture a Mercury cartoon foot with an enlarged toe....)

gravityman
12-18-2003, 19:38
was he also known as Bert the Bavarian or was that another guy (a heavy pack)


I don't remember his pack. This was in 2001. We meet him at Woods Hole near Pearisburg. Thin athletic guy in his early 40s with a bald head and was planning on trying to IAT after he finished.

Gravity man

MedicineMan
12-18-2003, 22:49
so what was Earl's trail name?????

bunbun
12-18-2003, 23:25
so what was Earl's trail name?????

For his first hike it was "The Lone Expedition." Later it was "The Crazy One." He chose both of them.

For the Former Easy - "tradition" has implications that "it's always been that way" and "should always be that way." But the idea of others picking ones Trail name was a passing fad that we'd be well rid of. Thruhiking is one of the ultimate forms of freedom - to allow others to pick my Trail name would be to give up some of that freedom. It would allow others to control a part of my life. That's unacceptable to me - only my wife gets that privilege.

MedicineMan
12-18-2003, 23:32
never thought about Earl having one....one thing I have noticed about trail names it that they are always easier to remember than given names.

B Thrash
12-19-2003, 20:41
so what was Earl's trail name?????


I saw where Earl Chaffer signed the register at one of the shelters in the Shenandoah's on his last thru hike, it was signed Crazy II or what looked like Crazy II.

B Thrash
12-19-2003, 20:45
I saw where Earl Chaffer signed the register at one of the shelters in the Shenandoah's on his last thru hike, it was signed Crazy II or what looked like Crazy II.

Correction in Earl's Last name: should read Shaffer not Chaffer.

The Old Fhart
12-19-2003, 23:57
B Trash,
I checked the two registers of mine that Earl signed and he wrote at Blue Mt. (GA); "5/6/98 On Long Cruise II 50th Anniversity '48-'98 Crazy I EVS" and at William Penn 7/28/98 in PA: "On Long Cruise #2 50th year 48/98 "Crazy I" EVS". I did not correct the spelling, it is Earl's. He didn't sign the same each time but I'm sure none of us do. I assumed by the "I" in "Crazy I" he meant "one" in roman numerals. I heard that some hikers were ripping his entries out of the registers so they could have a sample of what he signed so I was lucky to get both of these registers back.

Flash Hand
12-23-2003, 02:38
Hi Everyody!


Let you guys know that I got a new trail name. It is Flash Hand. Also, Atroll granted me my wish to replace the username. So, I will be no longer use Lil Allan.


Why Flash Hand? I am a deaf person, who will use Sign Language or hands to gesture to keep up the communication between me and others. My hand moves like a speed of light.

Have a great holidays!

Flash Hand :jump

Shadowman
12-23-2003, 04:46
Well, I don't know if this clarifies or muddifies, but I ran into a "Bert the Bavarian" several times, but I believe it was in 2000. He was from Bavaria but had moved to GA or NC. He had a pack identical to mine: a Kelty Super Tioga. Scares women, small children and dogs but really is much lighter and less massive than it looks. We were in the northern atlantic states at the time, maybe vermont or south. I thought him to be in his early sixtys or late fiftys. Very friendly nice guy

jlb2012
12-23-2003, 10:10
yep that sounds like him - I ran into him in Shenandoah - Bear Fence and Rock Spring huts

LWOP
12-31-2003, 01:43
I took the name LWOP for my 2002 hike because I was granted 2 1/2 months of Leave WithOut Pay from my employer. Now that I am retired and will be attempting a thru-hike (starting date: March 1st) it will have to stand for Living WithOut Pay. So many people get to know you by your name - so once you accept one you should keep it. Try to be original. There were too many Smoky Bear type names. Also try to make it short and clean. When you give a talk to 2nd graders you may not want to tell them why your trail name is Monkeybutt or Skidmark.
What most don't realize is that while on the trail you actually do become your trail name. I became LWOP. I probably wouldn't have answered to my real name if someone yelled it. I even signed letters to my wife with the name LWOP (she didn't quite understand that).
Trail names are important. When you hit the trail you are no longer the same person you were. There is no William J. Hartley the third from Hartley, Banks, and Snooty out on the trail. We all lose who we were because the trail is a great equalizer. Lawyers, doctors, and even postal employees all stink about the same after a week. (OK, lawyers don't change much in this department :confused: )
So choose carefully - your trail name will be with you long after your hike ends.

screwysquirrel
01-02-2004, 02:13
I remember Hacksaw but not that night, my wife, Blue Duck and I remember him from The Place in Damascus that year, also from the Creeper Trail. But I got my name From Seiko when I met him at the Paul Wolfe shelter in 1999 along with Dufflebag Jim. I told him that I was getting a disability check from the VA for Pstd and thus was crowned "Screwy Squirrel". I really liked that as I always enjoyed the Screwy Squirrel cartoons as a brat.