The Story Of Nickels

For those that may not know, my name is not actually Nickels. Nickels is my Trail Name, a name hikers choose or acquire while on the AT. The nicknames you’ll hear on Trail could be literally anything, such as Captain America, Dead Legs, NoBreaks, or The Crazy One; anything and everything is fair game. They’re a right of passage on a thru hike, and a long held tradition since Earl Shafer became the first thru hiker in 1948 (he was The Crazy One.

Hikers that choose to have a trail name may do it for fun, to preserve their real identity, or to represent ‘finding oneself’ and becoming a new person. A thru hike is a life changing endeavor, after all.

READ MORE ABOUT TRAIL NAMES

My Trail Name originated in the small town of Delaware Water Gap, nestled just north of the famous I-80 crossing of the Delaware River (This is where AT hikers learn about interstate bridge dynamics, and how they bounce up and down several inches).

As with most town stops, I quickly began my hunt for food once getting settled at the hostel. Thankfully Joe Bosco’s was right down the road, and offered a delicious bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. After presenting a five, I was informed that they were a little low on change. Specifically, quarters and dimes. OK, surly this won’t be an issue. “Your change is 95 cents.” Welp.

I returned to the hostel with, yes, 19 nickels in my pocket. Everyone heard me jingling from blocks away. It didn’t take long for another hiker named Pacer to officially give me my Trail Name. Funny enough, I still have every single one of those 19 nickels, kept tucked away in a safe place, to remind me of that wonderful experience.