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In Kristin Dwyer's The Atlas of Us, Atlas and her friends are given trail names by their program director; these nicknames allow Atlas (trail name Maps) to create a new identity and forge a new beginning, one unencumbered by her personal history. Names in Dwyer's novel serve a symbolic purpose, but there's a very real phenomenon of trail names among long-distance hikers.
Trail names haven't always been part of hiking culture; the tradition seems to have possibly begun in the 1970s, around the time when through-hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) became a popular pastime. Trail names allowed hikers, especially along the AT, to adopt a new persona, one that could be anonymous, egalitarian, and fun. As one hiker puts it, "Trail names often describe a quirk, a habit, or a comical mishap of a hiker, adding to the sense of uniqueness of each one, to the sense of escape, personal discovery, and soul searching each of us is out here to experience."
Trail names appear to be somewhat ...
