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Lion King
02-07-2009, 18:15
...name yourself prehike now?


I dont get it.

You run into or read about people who have never even hiked but because some thing they read had a person who has a trail name they think they should name themselves.

not a big deal, but anyone know why this is?

Im hiking this year in disguise and starting as Steve Stevens...

warraghiyagey
02-07-2009, 18:17
Because, that's why:)

freefall
02-07-2009, 18:49
...name yourself prehike now?


Im hiking this year in disguise and starting as Steve Stevens...

You must play a mean guitar then.

MOWGLI
02-07-2009, 18:56
Who knows. Personally, I think trail names are silly.

Mags
02-07-2009, 19:02
...because my last name is hard to pronounce for most English speakers.

Paul MAG(S)nanti.

Few people call me just Paul. In Boulder, I'm usually referred to as Paul Mags or even just Mags. On the trail? Same thing. Since I am just simply an outdoors person, the nickname/trailname duality makes sense. Don't need no special name on or off trail.


So, not my fault. ;)

Lion King
02-07-2009, 19:04
You must play a mean guitar then.

its definetly tempermental, but I wouldnt call it mean.

SunnyWalker
02-07-2009, 19:09
Pump trailnames into wikipedia.

Fiddleback
02-07-2009, 19:15
Because, although it would be OK for you guys to know my real name, I wouldn't want the rest of them to... :eek:

FB

buff_jeff
02-07-2009, 19:16
Who knows. Personally, I think trail names are silly.

I still don't have one. I named my dad, though. His is Dumbass. You can't beat that trailname. :D

daddytwosticks
02-07-2009, 20:01
My 11 year old daughter named me while we were on a day hike together several years ago. I christened her "Hey Daddy" because at the time, she started each sentence with Hey Daddy.... Do these names count? We were not on a thru-hike. I hope we didn't commit some breach of trail ettique while on a day hike of the AT.

Bulldawg
02-07-2009, 20:08
Hey, HYOH!! If ya want a trail name even before you set foot on ANY trail! This stuff ain't that serious! It's just walking!

CrumbSnatcher
02-07-2009, 20:08
I still don't have one. I named my dad, though. His is Dumbass. You can't beat that trailname. :D
your dad is not the first dumbass,i have met alot more dumbass's on the trail:D

YoungMoose
02-07-2009, 20:17
its just interesting. you sort of look up to them

No Belay
02-07-2009, 20:35
I still don't have one. I named my dad, though. His is Dumbass. You can't beat that trailname. :D

Dumbass Jr. may be appropriate.;)

CrumbSnatcher
02-07-2009, 20:39
Red Foreman

Shadowmoss
02-07-2009, 20:39
I named myself when I needed an internet name when I started running around with computer hackers (white hat ones). Trails aren't the only place that it is convenient to be known by a simple name that has nothing to do with your real name. It made sense to use the same one when I started hanging (literally :) ) with hikers.

max patch
02-07-2009, 21:12
I behave myself on the trail and in town. Don't need no sophomoric "trail name".

Bearpaw
02-08-2009, 12:41
Why do folks have trail names at all? It's just how we roll.

Why do people hike the AT? For me, a part of it was to get away from all the rules after a decade in the Marine Corps. I didn't needs any rules that common sense couldn't dictate for me.

Somehow I did just fine, and so will folks who choose their own trailname, before or during a hike.

Jack Tarlin
02-08-2009, 14:35
Not sure I understand the original question, which asks why hikers are doing this "now."

Seems to me they've been doing it for many years. While back in the day Trail names might have been bestowed on hikers by other folks, the vast majority of hikers pick their own, and this has been the case for a long time now.

Rockhound
02-08-2009, 14:37
Better to pick one you like before hand than get stuck with one you don't

Desert Reprobate
02-08-2009, 14:40
You can call me anything you want as long as it isn't late for dinner

SGT Rock
02-08-2009, 14:40
Absolutely.

But on the other hand, it is interesting to hear some of the names people stick to themselves. Sometimes these "handles" can be a little unwieldy.

SGT Rock
02-08-2009, 14:41
Of course, even if you get a name on the trail, it only really becomes your name when you start using it. So on the trail or off the trail - you are still in control of your name.

Rockhound
02-08-2009, 14:43
My favorite trail name ever has to be Two Dogs F***ing.

Biloxi
02-08-2009, 15:42
that made me laugh..I worked a paper mill in florida with a dude named Jeff..and his indian name meant that...and that's how everyone refered to him..as two dogs fu****...:eek:

WritinginCT
02-08-2009, 17:06
For me anyway, its sort of a self-confidence/self-esteem thing. With my luck and lack of grace and coordination I would end up with something like "Shat & Missed" or something equally embarrassing. And I have enough self-esteem issues without a mortifying trailname.

That being said- I have several nicknames already that I've had for years. It seems like a natural progression for me to use one of them on the trail.

YMMV

Lone Wolf
02-08-2009, 17:09
...name yourself prehike now?


I dont get it.

You run into or read about people who have never even hiked but because some thing they read had a person who has a trail name they think they should name themselves.

not a big deal, but anyone know why this is?

Im hiking this year in disguise and starting as Steve Stevens...

i named myself prehike 23 years ago

Rockhound
02-08-2009, 19:13
i named myself prehike 23 years ago
Yes but you have Gypsy now. Should'nt you change it to Whipped Wolf?

Tilly
02-08-2009, 19:21
Hmm...good question. I am not "named" and I will probably never hike w/a trailname. I like my regular name, and I am just me.

However, SO & I often joke about trailnames, current ones running are Tubbs and Lardo, and since in shoulder seasons he hikes in cutoff wool dress pants and sometimes a wool vest no doubt in argyle, he joked that his trailname would be "Homeless Business Man."

But maybe it's just something people want to do. Whatever.

Gaiter
02-08-2009, 19:24
its hard to get away from a screenname... look i still have formerly thickredhair... a screenname i started in middleschool.... its what i used when i first signed up on wb, some hikers still call me thickred... i've thought many times about how it would be so easy just to stick w/ thickredhair, but i don't wanna, it doesn't describe me any more (hair not as thick and more auburn than red now) it took a while before i was given a trail name, seems to be sticking....

charlie2008
02-08-2009, 20:05
I still don't have one. I named my dad, though. His is Dumbass. You can't beat that trailname. :D

Thats funny.
-
Got a Hiking / Trekking / Walking buddy thats gonna get the trailname "SickA**" because all the TVP the guy consumes. :eek:

fiddlehead
02-08-2009, 20:45
I named myself when I needed an internet name when I started running around with computer hackers (white hat ones). Trails aren't the only place that it is convenient to be known by a simple name that has nothing to do with your real name. It made sense to use the same one when I started hanging (literally :) ) with hikers.

Time's they are a changing.
in '77 only a few had trail names ( i didn't)
Then in '89 most did. (i did too)

Back then, mostly others picked your trail name for you.
Now, people pick their own or already have one because:

But, anyone who spends time on the internet finds a need for a "handle" or "login name" or "trail name"

SunnyWalker
02-08-2009, 20:55
Filddlehead: It was a smaller and slower world back then.

fiddlehead
02-08-2009, 21:03
Definitely slower. (and heavier)

yappy
02-09-2009, 11:19
I miss the days when I called a company and actually got a person. Not all the changes have been so great.

Frick Frack
02-09-2009, 11:38
Funny, I was just thinking about this a few days ago. I've had to explain "Cracker" & "Silver Potato" so many times to non-hikers that I do not make reference to those names anymore unless asked specifically about our trailnames. It was weird getting used to...even after 5 months.

Pickleodeon
02-09-2009, 14:55
A trail name is kind of like a new persona. We go out on the trail to get away from the craziness of everyday life. It's like, on the trail we dont have the stress and worries, so we can be ourselves without distractions. We can be our "true" selves out there. The name we earn, or choose, on the trail- it's a name for who we really are. Who we'd like to be all the time, but get distracted from in everyday life. Maybe some people act different, more free without a real name to interfere.

I got my nickname in college, it stuck with me as a camp counselor name, and it'll stick with me on the trail. "Pickle" is who I really am. The people that I work with, etc, people that don't know me very well, they meet Ashley, I'm a little quiet, "normal" "average"- boring. People that know me as Pickle see me as kind of rowdy, sometimes obnoxiously singing on the top of my lungs, with a piercing my parents don't about, planning to hike the AT- (but everyone knows that now). I'm confident. There are million Ashley's in the world, there are far fewer "Pickle"s.

Small Steps
02-09-2009, 15:03
People name themselves before hand for the same reason people buy outdoor clothing but have never seen nor plan to see a trail.


Because they are want-a-be's

sir White Wolf
02-09-2009, 15:22
On my mothers side - My ancestors named the Cherokee ( 'Cherokee' Muskogee is for 'people with another language)

And when my Great Grand Mother called me hvtkē yvhv I kinda figured I would keep it as a trail name....

BR360
02-09-2009, 15:35
People name themselves before hand for the same reason people buy outdoor clothing but have never seen nor plan to see a trail.


Because they are want-a-be's

This is true, but probably not in the cynical sense that it is intended(?)

Screen names are de riguer (that French idiom means "normal and expected," "par for the course.")

If cyber-hikers visit any site that has to do with hiking, such as WB, they have to choose a screen name. Everyone else has "trail names/screen names." So they simply adopt one as well, and yes, it helps them fit it.

Putting a real name on your avatar here is significantly non-conforming. And everyone knows how conforming hikers are :D. That's why there are so many arguments (HERE!) about hiking the "right way" vs. HYOH.

And why risk it, given how people on many sites---and occasionally here on WB---get into nuclear flame wars over the silliest mis-interpretations and mis-understandings.

It is normal in the current culture, especially online, to adopt a "nom de guerre."

Also known as a pseudonym: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nom_du_guerre#Nom_de_guerre

leeki pole
02-09-2009, 15:50
Got mine on the Big K doing a section and finishing with a thru, he gave it to me. I consider it an honor. BTW, you ought to hear some Navy fighter jock call signs. Now that's funny.

Jayboflavin04
02-09-2009, 20:20
I have a nickname now that I HATED at first. It took me a few months to get use to, but now I like it. Actually some ppl dont even know my real name. I just tell you.....my best friend told me to stop being a "apple bag" one day. Referring to the bag of apples that hangs between a mans legs. Boy did that chap my ass.......Now I dont even care....I think it is fun!

I think it would be cool to here how some you folks got your trail names?

Slo-go'en
02-09-2009, 20:44
I think it would be cool to here how some you folks got your trail names?

I belive there was a thread along those lines a while back. Anyway, the way I got mine:

Decided to get back into doing long section hikes 6-7 years ago. First one was in SW VA, as I remembered that section to have been easy. Of course, I forgot the reason I thought it was easy was I had done it 15 years earlier and had just finished hiking through NC .

So, I started out and everytime a thru hiker passed me they'd ask "Hows it going" and I'd say "Slowly". Wasn't long before I became known as "Slow Going", or Slo-go'en to make it a little different. That was much better than "NTN" (No Trail Name).

Thankfully, now that I have 2000 miles or so done in the last 6-7 years, I'm not so slow going anymore, but I like the name.

Bearpaw
02-09-2009, 21:09
People name themselves before hand for the same reason people buy outdoor clothing but have never seen nor plan to see a trail.


Because they are want-a-be's

What about those who chose their names pre-trail and are now "Been there- Done that"s?

SGT Rock
02-09-2009, 21:13
How about those that chose the screen name. Get "given" a name on the trail, but choose yet another name when they get off.

bobbyw
02-11-2009, 04:07
I felt pressured to pick a trail name because when you sign up for this site it asks you for one, I used my name instead, but it's almost suggestive to make one.

sloopjonboswell
02-11-2009, 06:18
i picked mine while hiking... because i know how i can get if i drink too much whiskey (didnt want sleeps on trail or tuna dog)and also after meeting a female hiker who had rejected all given 'trail names.'

hyoh

Tin Man
02-11-2009, 08:06
I don't know if this happens to anyone else...

"Hi, my name is Tin Man and this is Bartender"

...blank looks...

"Uh, okay Tin Man and Bartender, um, nice to meet you, I am Bill and this is Carol"

...so if someone says...

"Uh, okay Dumbass and Double Dumbass, um, nice to meet you, I am Rick and this is Rob"... that would be us. :D

Bare Bear
02-11-2009, 13:02
Picking your own name is better than having one bestowed on you. Ask my buddy "Stinkypants".

Nearly Normal
02-11-2009, 13:16
My doctor gave me mine.

Rockhound
02-11-2009, 14:11
My doctor gave me mine.
Are you going to ask for a second opinion?

Tin Man
02-11-2009, 15:04
Are you going to ask for a second opinion?

Abby Normal

vonfrick
02-11-2009, 15:16
i used the one my students always called me. it's better than any that anyone else has tried to bestow. and since that "anyone else" means warraghiyagey, you can well imagine ...

Tin Man
02-11-2009, 15:39
so now when warrgy asks a question, we say 'anyone else'

Kanati
02-11-2009, 15:53
My favorite trail name ever has to be Two Dogs F***ing.

I have a good friend who told that joke about 25 years or more ago to a couple of us. Ever since we have nicknamed him "2 dogs" and address him by that wherever we meet. We also get some strange looks when we holler it across a crowded room. We just reply....private joke.

happy hiking. :sun

Nearly Normal
02-11-2009, 21:56
Are you going to ask for a second opinion?
**** no!

Sleepy the Arab
02-11-2009, 23:19
Picking your own name is better than having one bestowed on you.

I respectfully disagree.