I realized I never explained what trail names are or how I got mine so this will be that much delayed post. Trail names are just what they sound, the names thru hikers go by on the trail. No one goes by their real name (with the exception of Peter who was pretty resistant to the idea of having a trail name). I don’t know many people’s actual names. Instead, hikers either assign themselves a name or are given a name by other hikers. If a hiker names themselves, they usually start the trail with that name and it has personal significance. Cool Blue falls into this category–from day one on Katahdin he introduced himself as Cool Blue. I didn’t even know his real name until like day five. The name Cool Blue comes from his camp where they had nicknames so he decided he also wanted it to be his trail name. Shuffle named herself too but did so after a couple days on trail.
Others get named by other hikers, sometimes against their will (and sometimes the names stick and sometimes they don’t). For example, originally Wolf Bird wasn’t Wolf Bird. During the 100 mile wilderness Thorny tried to name him Big Cheese due to his bringing a giant two pound block of cheese on the trail when everyone else was packing as light of food as possible because we had to have ten days worth. Wolf bird was somewhat offended by the name and resisted it. The name Wolf bird later came about when we heard a loon one night across the lake. He claimed it was a wolf while others argued it was a bird and then somehow wolf bird developed and it stuck.
I was given my trail name, Sherpa, during the 100 mile wilderness. I kind of accepted it even though it was the first name and didn’t have a hilarious story, mainly because I was worried I’d get an embarrassing name. Thorny gave me my name after we bonded over talking about Nepal. I studied abroad there in college and he’d spent a good amount of time trekking there and we talked of all the places we’d been and how much we loved it. Also, Sherpa is relevant as I am carrying a pack up mountains across long distances like Sherpas do. Unfortunately I do so with much less grace and ease than actual Sherpas. So that’s how I got my trail name. I like it because its simple and reminds me of a place that has had a profound impact on my life.
Some trail names are hilarious. Today I met a Mr Gigglefits. Others are somewhat inappropriate, like the group termed Stoners with boners. Either way, pretty much everyone has a trail name. It’s unclear why they exist. We argued about if it was to allow you to establish a new identity on trail or to avoid confusion with common names or even for safety in anonymity. I’m not exactly sure what the reason is, but Sherpa has definitely become a real name to me–I haven’t been called Julie in weeks.