[pct-l] trail names

[yogilists@xxxxxxxxxxx (yogi hicker)]

Let your trail name happen.  Don't pick a trail name before going on the
trail.  In my opinion, that is simply a "nickname", not a trail name.

A thru-hike is a wonderful, crazy, unique experience.  We take trail names
to recognize this experience as a special time.  Let your name be
representative of who you are on the trail.  Believe me, you'll be a
different person, and I think that if you want to be called by a different
name than the one you use back in the other world, it should have ties to
your trail experience.

I remember when I got to Daicey Pond in Maine, a few miles before Katahdin,
there was a representative of the Appalachian Trail Conference who was
taking data from thru-hikers:  when we started, where we were from, our
opinions of the trail, etc.  The dude asked me the coolest question.  First,
he asked for my trail name.  Then, he asked for my "other name".  He didn't
say "real name", he said "other name".   He didn't spell it out in so many
words, but by choosing his words carefully, he recognized that my TRAIL NAME
is just as REAL as the name I was given at birth.

Think about that.





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