View Full Version : Trail Names
robertsi
03-18-2005, 16:15
Hello all
This is my first post here, but i have been reading for over a year. It is great to read everyone else's stories and experiences.
Over the last 3 years, i have hiked all of maryland, some of virginia and some of pa. My question is regarding trail names.
Are you allowed to give yourself a trailname? or do you have to earn it from someone you meet on the trail? Just wondering what the custom was regarding this.
Thanks
Rob
Tim Rich
03-18-2005, 16:21
I think the custom has changed over the years from having a trailname given to you while hiking, to now a catchy name you give yourself before you ever set foot on the trail. Self-naming has always existed, but I think it's the majority now.
Take Care,
Tim (no trail name)
Nightwalker
03-18-2005, 16:26
It goes both ways. I was given mine. If you're given one you don't like, for heaven's sake DON'T get visibly upset, or you'll never get out from under it. Just ignore it. Don't look, don't answer, don't react.
My trailname comes from my habit of sleeping late, starting late and coming into the shelter well after dark. It only took about three days to get, and could have been LOTS worse.
:D
robertsi
03-18-2005, 16:28
Tim
Thanks for the info. I think ill wait a little longer and see if i get one from someone else.
Actually i was doing a weekend hike in pa this winter, and we met a guy named jim at quarry gap shelter. I had brought with me some cotton balls coated with petroleum jelly to start our fire. Jim thought it was funny, and he started calling me jelly ball. I really dont want to be forever remembered as jelly ball so i think i will disregard that one and wait for a new one. lol......
Anyhow... thanks. hoping to get out on the trail again soon. Im getting a major bug.
Thanks
Rob (no trail name yet)
Nightwalker
03-18-2005, 16:39
Thanks
Rob (major bug)Careful, you might accidentally give yourself one...
If you do decide to let the community name you, which I think is best, try not to let someone hang a tag on you:
a) In the first few days (it won't mean much)
b) If you really don't like it (franklooper's suggestions are good)
c) If it comes from idiots (only laughter is good from idiots)
d) If it is really common
After you've been on the trail for a little bit, it is really easy to spot self-given names. Also, notice how many (fill in the blank) Bears there are. I.e, Limping Bear, Walking Bear, Crippled Bear, Sleeping Bear, etc. Something original is a different case (i.e, Mowgli is technically a bear, but is original). One problem with a lack of originality is that it is hard to identify you. For example, a name of Turtle will be hard to pick out in the masses on the AT, not only each year, but from year to year.
Ok, that is it. I promise to take off my Nazi uniform now and not put it back on for another month, at leasst.
smokedog
03-18-2005, 18:10
I have been section hiking the AT for the past six years and have not been tagged with a trail name yet. It just seems kinda corny to give yourself a name, but to each his/her own.
steve hiker
03-18-2005, 18:19
Hello all
Are you allowed to give yourself a trailname? or do you have to earn it from someone you meet on the trail? Just wondering what the custom was regarding this.
Thanks
Rob
You are not allowed to give yourself a trailname. A trailname must be bestowed by your elders. My name is UGH.
it can go either way my trail name recon was givin to me a few years back by hiking buddy,i ditched it in favor of neo,i am a matrix fan,plus i am bullet proof and unstoppable,i told some friends i may be known as grammaton cleric,because i am the highest ranking cleric in the tetragrammaton:cool: neo
Lone Wolf
03-18-2005, 20:18
Of course you can name yourself. I did. There is no set custom or rules.
smokymtnsteve
03-18-2005, 20:33
Of course you can name yourself. I did. There is no set custom or rules.
so Lone Wolf..what is your trail name??
Lone Wolf
03-18-2005, 20:43
George W. Hayduke.
Nightwalker
03-18-2005, 20:45
Of course you can name yourself. I did. There is no set custom or rules.
You just think you named yourself. You should hear all those other names that you have!
Good luck on the 22nd.
BTW, do Circuit Rider and Sherlock finish every year that they start? That's two walkin' sons-a-guns. Nice ones too. And they even have nice things to say about you!
:D
Lone Wolf
03-18-2005, 20:58
Yup. They finish.
shades of blue
03-18-2005, 21:02
Wolf
Do you know when Circuit rider is planning his start?
Lone Wolf
03-18-2005, 21:38
I'm meeting CR and Sherlock this coming Monday at the Amicalola Lodge, staying the night and hiking the approach trail Tuesday morning.
SavageLlama
03-18-2005, 23:15
LW, good luck and happy hiking. May the trail rise up to meet ya.
your name is now MAJOR BUG. Sorry, it's the way it has to be :)
SGT Rock
03-19-2005, 00:08
If you are worried than your name won't be official unless someone else gives it to you, I am starting a service. For $10 you send me your trail name of choice, then I will "Officially" recognize you as your chose trail name. You can cite me as the guy that gave it to you. :D
No refunds :datz
shades of blue
03-19-2005, 00:17
Wolf
That's great! You're going to have such a good time. Tell CR that shades of blue says hi. Be safe, and have fun with which ever blaze you choose.
SavageLlama
03-19-2005, 00:47
"Your name will be Pinto."
"Why?"
"Why not!"
steve hiker
03-19-2005, 02:12
Well, my name is Jumble Jowls and it might be a sin
but I'm gonna take that bet, you're gonna regret
cause I'm the best that's ever been.
Jumble Jowls #1 :banana
I resisted accepting a trail name for a while, kinda thought it was silly. When this one refused to go away it was a long time before I stopped explaining to folks that SWIFT didn't have anything to do with my walking ability, it was an acronym for "***** What'd I Forget Today?" By Damascus I'd managed to leave behind enough gear at shelters to equip another thru-hiker, Leki's included. One guy chased me for 100 miles carrying a smelly knee brace.
My view is that if you name yourself, you get a name that suits your ego. If you get stuck with a trailname not of your choosing, you probably deserved it. It will grow on you, when you laugh at yourself the world laughs with you.
Youngblood
03-19-2005, 09:17
If you are worried than your name won't be official unless someone else gives it to you, I am starting a service. For $10 you send me your trail name of choice, then I will "Officially" recognize you as your chose trail name. You can cite me as the guy that gave it to you. :D
No refunds :datzFor another $10 you could throw in a "Certificate of Authenticity".
WOW! ROCK....where do i get in on that action? hehehehehehe :D
my buddy, "MODEL T (http://www.modelt.net)", says..."if you dont pick your own trail name...you might have to live with a name you REALLY dis-like (he used stronger language)....."
see ya'll out there: APR 28-MAY 20 HOT SPRINGS to PEARISBURG
Kerosene
03-19-2005, 13:16
For $10 you send me your trail name of choice, then I will "Officially" recognize you as your chose trail name. You can cite me as the guy that gave it to you.Interesting that in our information-driven economy you could probably make more with this service than selling high-quality pepsi can stoves!
SGT Rock
03-20-2005, 11:19
Sure I could make a certificate:
To all Ye Present, Be it Known
That ______________________ having entered the illustrious halls of hikers has been dubbed by his peers with the following trail name:
Let it be known henceforth throughout the circles of real hikers that they shall be addressed, referred, reviled, and/or rebuked by this name no matter how famous or infamous they become.
Given by my hand on this ____th day of ______, in the year of our Lord _____.
Signed: ____________________
SGT Rock
First Sergeant, USA
Official Trail Name Bestower
Do I get a free stove with my trail name?
SGT Rock
03-20-2005, 11:52
Yes, I can do that, for $20.
Hello all
Over the last 3 years, i have hiked all of maryland, some of virginia and some of pa. My question is regarding trail names.
Thanks
Rob
OK, I think you should be dubbed "Summah" since you've hiked SUMMAH the trail so far! You can always change it to ALLAH later when you finish ;-)
Or....like "Robber Fly" from your name Robert and the end you're posted that reminds me of a TSI TSI FLY.
you be dah ROBBAH FLY :banana
Jack Tarlin
03-20-2005, 22:26
I have a question for any of you who go a ways back on the Trail:
I just finished reading a Trail memoir from 1984 and I was struck by the fact that there were NO trail names mentioned....every time the author mentioned other hikers, who he was with, who was camped with him, his hiking partner, etc., he always used Christian names.
This got me wondering.......
Does anyone have a really good idea on when the phenomena of Trail names took hold? It seems that by the late eighties/early nineties EVERYONE had a Trail name. So I'm curious and would love to hear from anyone who hiked in the early or mid-eighties (Wolf maybe?).
People have asked me over the years about the history of the Trail name phenomena, and I always thought it went back for decades. It seems this is more recent than I'd thought, but I'd love to hear from folks who actually hiked back then who could shed some light on this.
ARambler
03-20-2005, 23:29
I got my first trail name on a section hike in the 100 mile wilderness in 1981. I was honored that I "qualified". I think most of us had names, but that was just one group who had had 6 months of peer pressure to choose one. I was satisfied with the name Weekend Warrior, but by early 1982 I chose, Ambler Rambler, because at the time, I was not trying to complete the whole trail. Also, I wanted to choose my own name, even if it was not so clever and I was from Ambler, PA. Last year at Neels gap, I shortened it to just Rambler. I wish I had changed it, maybe to toc, because Rambler does not seem like a great thru hiker name. However, toc is only good if I never have to explain what it means. ;)
Rambler
There weren't any trail names in '76. ed garvey was ed garvey. He was revising his book and asked me for some input on thru hiking with a dog. So i sent him a bunch of candid stuff and never heard back---rickin rackin frackin...warren doyle was warren doyle-he was speed hiking i'm guessing with a support vehicle that summer. I got my trailname as a nickname in an orchestra pit one evening in the mid/late 80's when the horn player during a rest looked at me and blurted out 'tombone!' It stuck and i carried it to the woods since sometimes i carry the trombone as well. And yes, latching on to that nickname sure beats those various 'friends' and hiking buds have used from time to time...
Kerosene
03-21-2005, 10:25
I never encountered anyone with a trail name during my 6 hikes and 500 miles from '73-'79. I didn't hear of any during my SNP hike of '86, but that was in the Fall, well after the thru-hiker crowd passed through.
RockyTrail
03-21-2005, 10:53
Well, my name is Jumble Jowls and it might be a sin
but I'm gonna take that bet, you're gonna regret
cause I'm the best that's ever been.
Jumble Jowls #1 :bananaClever, maybe we should dub you "charlie daniels!":jump
I first backpacked on the AT in '75, didn't hear about trailnames until about 2000 or so, but then I march to a different drummer I guess...
LIhikers
03-21-2005, 19:33
A good friend gave me my trail name based on our hiking experiences. I got named Sir Fallsdownalot. I didn't like the Sir part so I go by Fallsdownalot. Now, I really don't fall down so much, but I did fall a few times in the company of this friend.
Mountain Dew
03-22-2005, 01:39
[B]Mountain Dew[/B...This trail name was given to me because I drink it like water. They even came out with a new flavor in 2003, Livewire, to celebrate my thru-hike...or so I say. They have come out with a new flavor, PurplePassion, once again to celebrate my 2005 thru-hike. They deny this fact, but I have insider information. Mountain Dew was first bottled in Johnson City, Tenn. which is very close to the trail.
Others with my trail name are simply imitators.
Try the Dew... IT WILL TICKLE YOUR INARDS :sun
Jester2000
03-23-2005, 23:02
Jack, Jack, Jack. Haven't you heard the original trail name story enough times in Billville? The story Bust Ace tells is that the first person to hike with a trail name was Perigrin of America. He was a southbounder (maybe THAT'S why you're blanking this out?) It was actually his pen name (he was a writer) and started using Perigrin as his name. So when did Bust Ace Southbound? It was somewhere around '78, right?
By the by, I think that a much better name for Rob would not be jelly ball, but Ball Jelly, as that sounds like it has to do with chafing, which would lead to some interesting conversations.
And I think your name should be given, only because it avoids people being called things like Strider or Philosopher or (God forbid) Baltimore Jackie O.
Mountain Dew
03-23-2005, 23:26
Bustace thru-hiked SoBo in 1973 Jester. That thru made him the 38th thru-hiker ever.
..............................................
I think Ambler Rambler is a cool trail name seeing as how you are from Ambler,Pa.
......................................
Mountain Hippie
03-24-2005, 00:14
I was given my name, but it was one of two that I had to choose from. The first was "Willie" as in Willie Nelson. I have long red hair and a beard. I am always told how much I look like Willie. Just my luck, Other people grow up to look like Tom Cruise or Vin Diesel, I end up looking like Willie Nelson. Anyway I insisted that I would not be Willie. The other choice I was offered was Mountain Hippie. Mountain because I love the mountains. Hippie because I kinda look like a Hippie. I felt that I could live with that so that is what it is.
Personally I believe it may be best to name yourself. If another name comes along you could switch. It would give you more control over situation so you won't end up with a name like Doo Doo Dogeater or some such name.
Jack, I first started hiking the AT in 76. I don't remember people using trail names on a regular basis until maybe 88 or 89. I could be wrong but it seems that trail names evolved at about the same time that the internet did. I mean there were always a few people that had nick names but those were not from the trail, they were names that people out side of the trail had given them. So I really don't know how the fad started. But it is an interesting question.
The Old Fhart
03-24-2005, 00:22
Mountain Dew-"Bustace thru-hiked SoBo in 1973 Jester. That thru made him the 38th thru-hiker ever."
Click here (http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/3480/size/big/sort/1/cat/500) for a photo of Bust Ace and other thru-hikers. Read the photo description to identify him.
The Old Fhart
03-24-2005, 00:53
Baltimore Jack-"Does anyone have a really good idea on when the phenomena of Trail names took hold? It seems that by the late eighties/early nineties EVERYONE had a Trail name. So I'm curious and would love to hear from anyone who hiked in the early or mid-eighties (Wolf maybe?).
People have asked me over the years about the history of the Trail name phenomena, and I always thought it went back for decades. It seems this is more recent than I'd thought, but I'd love to hear from folks who actually hiked back then who could shed some light on this.'I may be able to shed some light on this but it ain't gonna be exact. I have the ALDHA 50th anniversary Appalachian Trail Yearbook that has the names of all those that reported their thru hikes to the ATC through the start of 1998. I looks like the first trail name (or nickname?) listed was "Bump" from 1970 followed by "Gus" in 1972. "Peregrine" and two from "The Bust Ace Trucking Co." followed in 1973. Because the names of the finishers for the years are listed alphabetically, and about 90 finished in 1973, Bust Ace was somewhere between the 109th and 198th listed finisher.
There are only a few trail names listed until 1985 when it seems that trail names really caught on and many hikers were using them. The rest, as they say, is history.
Youngblood
03-24-2005, 08:45
I may be able to shed some light on this but it ain't gonna be exact. I have the ALDHA 50th anniversary Appalachian Trail Yearbook that has the names of all those that reported their thru hikes to the ATC through the start of 1998. I looks like the first trail name (or nickname?) listed was "Bump" from 1970 followed by "Gus" in 1972. "Peregrine" and two from "The Bust Ace Trucking Co." followed in 1973. Because the names of the finishers for the years are listed alphabetically, and about 90 finished in 1973, Bust Ace was somewhere between the 109th and 198th listed finisher.
There are only a few trail names listed until 1985 when it seems that trail names really caught on and many hikers were using them. The rest, as they say, is history.
Old Fhart... so who where you before you got Old? :)
Old Fhart... so who where you before you got Old? :)
I hear he was just "a can of beans."
The Old Fhart
03-24-2005, 11:09
1)Youngblood-"Old Fhart... so who were you before you got Old? :) "
2)MOWGLI16-"I hear he was just "a can of beans.""
1)Actually, that was so long ago I can't remember. :D
2)I do recall that my name had nothing to do with hiker related flatulence, but with my northern New Hampsha rural accent. :)
Check here (http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/2257/sort/1/cat/500/page/4) for the key to proper pronunciation.
Jester2000
03-24-2005, 16:43
It is my understanding that The Old Phart has always been old. But rarely wise. Takes some kick photos, though.
Dew -- Spot on. It was '73 for Bust Ace. Interesting to see that there were two before Peregrin. Didn't know that.
SGT Rock
03-24-2005, 17:11
Well I don't remember anyone doing the trail name thing back in the early to mid 80s. I took a break from the AT and came back in '97 and that was the in thing to do.