Colby "Hero" AlfordTrail Name
What’s your trail name? How’d you get it? Let us know at facebook.com/GetOutChattanooga.
Every time Elaine Gregory-Duty steps onto the Appalachian Trail, she ceases to exist.
For six months, three weeks or even a day, she is no longer "Elaine," the former Home Depot employee; she is "Vagabond," a 74-year-old force of nature who's on the move just as much as her name suggests.
Trail names, the nicknames long-distance hikers adopt during their months in the wild, are more than just a fun part of trail culture. They're empowering. They give hikers a chance to start over unburdened by the cares of the outside world.
The names, often bestowed by fellow sojourners of the trail, can be based on a place, a character trait, an embarrassing slip-up or something more meaningful, but one thing is often common.
"You forget your real name," says Vagabond, whose trail name was given to her before her 2013 thru-hike of the AT because she'd moved 59 times throughout the course of her life. "And I like Vagabond. I think it suits me. Now, I've moved 61 times - I'm a vagabond."
Each name has a story, so we caught up with a few other Chattanoogans to hear theirs.
Colby "Hero" Alford
- Age: 33 - Completed AT: 2014
Alford had hoped to tackle the AT's grueling 2,200 miles with support from his father, but when his dad passed away in 2011, Alford chose to take on the name in his memory. "Hero," he learned shortly after his father's passing, was what his dad used to call his grandfather, and when a friend casually greeted Alford with "What's up, hero?" he took it as a sign. Adopting the name gave him a chance to talk about his father on the trail and pay homage to the man who was his own hero. "He's not able to be with me today," Alford says, "but I still think about him all the time, and I try to make him proud."
Ry "Fart Master" Glover
- Age: 26 - Completed AT: 2013
Not everyone is particularly proud of the name they're given. Glover is not one of those people. The coveted moniker "Fart Master" was tossed around between him and a couple of friends based on whoever was the most flatulent on any given weekend. Glover won the title after a stomach not used to trail food voiced its many complaints about the adjustment. "I was basically a walking trumpet," he laughs.
Tom "Nooga" Hodge
- Age: 68 - Completed AT: 2012
During his five-year section-hike of the AT, Hodge met several hikers whose names embodied their hometowns. There was "Gator" from Florida, "Keystone" from Pennsylvania and "Texas Pete" from well, you get the idea. Hodge, too, was chosen to represent his hometown - but not until after a couple of over-enthusiastic guys learned of his origins and started yelling "Noooga! Noooga!" every time he entered camp. "I can't say it's real personal, but it was right for me," says Hodge. "I love Chattanooga, and I'm proud to be from here. To me, it was complimentary."