Trail Names: Background information when reading The Atlas of Us

Trail Names

This article relates to The Atlas of Us

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 more common on the AT than on the Pacific Crest Trail or other long-distance trails throughout the United States. But they are used worldwide, including on European trails like the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

According to hiker lore, hikers can choose their own names, but the best names are those bestowed upon them by fellow hikers. For example, one hiker named "Earplug" got his name not because he was a snorer, but because he accidentally ate some earplugs he thought were vitamins. Trail names can be colorful, humorous, and subversive, indicative of the irreverent, countercultural atmosphere of life on the trail.

Some trail names are funny (like Beerman or Late Start); others are more spiritual or symbolic (like Water or Hard Times). Regardless of whether hikers choose to adopt a trail name, the practice can be part of forming what's known as a "tramily" (or trail family)—the process of creating intense, sometimes lifelong bonds among those who share the intensity and hilarity of long-distance hiking over the course of weeks or months. Hikers comb the pages of logbooks left at trailheads and hiking lodges, looking for the memorable trail names of folks they recognize—how satisfying it is to see that "Hummingbird" or "Roadrunner" has made it to that landmark before you, and that your paths might cross again.

Want to hedge your bets? Some hiking aficionados have created a fun online trail name generator so you can start your next hike fully equipped. According to it, I'm Harmonious Lasagna Willow. See you on the trail!

Hikers on the Appalachian Trail
Photo courtesy of Chewonki Semester School (CC BY 2.0)

Filed under Cultural Curiosities

This article relates to The Atlas of Us. It first ran in the February 21, 2024 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.