What's in a name?

Trail Name (noun, concept) - A special nickname adopted by long-distance backpackers, which has become a tradition on the AT and many other trails. (Source)

Should you take your own trail name or wait for your "tramily" to give you one on a long thru-hike? Well, in my case, it will be years before I can take 6 months off work to do one of the big-3 hikes. In the mean time, I've done all sorts of backpacking, and plan on doing a bunch more. So I'm opting to define my own trail name rather than wait. I've thought about this for a while as there are several candidates. But on my recent OT trip, I started signing log books and introducing myself as "leaf."

From my earliest days growing up in Vermont, I was enthralled with the annual natural fireworks display in October of fall foliage. I was particularly partial to maple trees for the wide range of colors they'd display - red, orange, yellow, sometimes purple, and of course, green. And frequently more than one simultaneously. When I was a youth in Scouting, I "signed" my Order of the Arrow projects with a tiny maple tree. And I've taken to a particular maple leaf montage as the printed pattern for much of my custom gear.

So the choice seemed obvious to me. Henceforth I take "Leaf" as my trail name.

Keep hiking, my friends