More Names

As promised, here are some more word sketches of my fellow thru-hikers.

Little Bob was an attorney from Louisana, a short, wiry man whose black beard and hair were streaked with gray. He wa a determined hiker who described his approach to the trail as walking from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm and checking out everything along the way. I met him first at Laurel Creek Lodge, where he described himself as happy to get away from all the “kids” on the trail, and we encountered each other off and on through Grayson Highlands in southwest Virginia. We camped together at Saunders shelter, the first shelter out of Damascus. Like us, he was a refugee from Trail Days, happy to be away from a very large party. He had just switched over to a “bagel and peanut butter” diet and had gotten rid of his stove. He passed us a few days later and we never saw him again. We saw his shelter entries for a while but even these disappeared and we wondered if he was still on the trail. I saw his picture at Andover House in Maine in early September–he was almost a month ahead of us at this time and I have every reason to think that he had finished the trail by that time.


Bert caught up with me on the trail north of Watuga Lake shelter in north Tennessee. She’d camped at the shelter with us the night before but came in very late. The following day she blazed by me on the trail. I kept up with her for a while to chat but she was moving fast so I didn’t do so for long. During that time, however, I learned that she had skipped from Dennis Cove, TN to Damascus, VA and walked north to Bland, VA before returning to Dennis Cove. That way she could walk into Damascus for Trail Days. She hiked with her brother, Ernie (not sure if that was his real name or trail name) so they were Bert and Ernie for a while. She was a small woman, with short, dark hair and big eyes. Reminded me of a deer at times. Didn’t see her for a long time after Damascus and figured that she was long gone. But one Sunday morning in Massachusetts, she came up from behind much to my surprise. He parents had dropped her off after a short visit and she was slackpacking to the Cookie Lady’s place about 18 miles up the trail. The encounter was brief and she was gone again but it was fun to see someone from the earlier part of the hike. I saw her again Vermont and read her register entries off and on again into Maine. At Speck Pond in Maine, she noted that she had met someone special who was “easy on the eyes”. That some one special was Zeus. After that she (and Zeus) slowed down. They camped with us at West Carry Pond shelter and were with us waiting for the ferry across the Kennebec River. They were still in their tent just north of Caratunk, ME when I saw them last on the trail--reading to each other, I recall. I expected them to show up that night–both were strong hikers–but they didn’t and never caught up with us again. They finished the trail four days after I did and made it to Radar’s party late Saturday evening.


Zeus came bounding into camp the night before I reached Damascus, Virginia. Red, Gary and I were well settled into a campsite near route 421 after some wonderful trail magic. We thought we’d have the place to ourselves when Zeus motored into camp with two companions. He was a high energy hiker, his movement appeared to be on the double quick. Maybe that was to make up for his short legs. Zeus was a short man, with thick brown hair and beard. His voice was soft with a not too strong Massachusetts accent. He’d been laid off and had hit the trail. Didn’t see him again for a few weeks until he came by our camp at Laurel Creek just south of Bland, VA. He came motoring by, moving fast. Said he couldn’t stop or his leg would lock up painfully. The following morning he was in Smokey Jack’s van when we caught a ride into Bland. He was planning to see a doctor about his leg. Saw him again just outside Pearisburg, VA where he recounted his adventure in medical treatment that ended up with him driving the doc’s car into WV for additional tests. He was with me off and on throughout southwestern and central VA. He holed up with us at Bailey Gap shelter after a severe thunderstorm. When he took off his legs churned like a cartoon character as he disappeared up the trail. He was at the Best Western in Troutville when we zeroed there and camped with us many nights on the way to Rockfish Gap. After that, I saw him again in Vernon, NJ. He passed us near Harriman State Park in NY when we went to town for a mail drop. Next time I saw him was in Gorham, NH getting out of Southpaw’s car but he headed out while I took a zero day. When I saw him next he had linked up with Bert and the rest of his story is joined with hers.

Paladin first appeared at Helvey’s Mill shelter north of Bland, VA and hiked with him off and on till Rockfish Gap. He was a section hiker doing the trail in four years, 2002 being his second year. If one is going to hike the AT in sections, Paladin’s approach seems to be the best. Being on the trail for a long stretch gave him the chance to get to know thru-hikers and vice versa. Paladin was a short, stocky man with a southern accent and a taste for small cigars. He was a criminal defense attorney from SC who only defended “innocent” clients in his words. He wore a broad brimmed had and seemed pretty intense at first. His intensity dissipated as I got to know him, evolving into an acute sense of humor and sharp mind. Most of us thought his name referred to the 1960's TV character but his reference were to the knights of Charlemagne, which certainly seemed appropriate for a thru-hiker.

Kinky & Two Timer were a young married couple I met just north of Pearisburg and hiked with into central VA. I saw them again on the trail in Vernon, NJ and read their register entries for the rest of the trip since they were only a few days ahead of me. Both were tall with dark hair that they wore in pony tails. Two Timer was making his second thru-hike, Kinky her first. They were married after he completed his first thru-hike and apparently Kinky was sufficiently impressed with his feat that she wanted to do the same, so they were on the trail. That’s where Two Timer got his name. Kinky’s name derived from the fact that she was hoping to work out her “kinks” (allergies, etc) on the trail. Together, their names were more suggestive and they often were asked about it. They hiked with Radar and Zeus for much of the trip and went up Katahdin with Radar and were among the thru hikers at Radar’s party in Connecticut.

Pop Tart, whose name reflected one of the common breakfast foods along the trail, was one of the “characters” of our trail community. I saw his shelter entries containing the lyrics to “Big Rock Candy Mountain” long before I ever saw him in Virginia. Even then, I didn’t get to know him until after Pennsylvania. He was an elfin presence on the trail, short round, a wide smile protruding from a bushy black beard flecked with streaks of gray. He wore Mardi Gras beads as part of his hiking attire and always seemed to be in a happy mood. I last saw him at North Woodstock, NH. He went out ahead of us with plans to get off the trail at Pinkham Notch to attend a high school reunion. I assume he made it back and to Katahdin summit.


The Maryland-Pennsylvania Trail Family is a collective group that I met when I solo hiked from Front Royal, Va to Boiling Springs, Pa. It included Hoss,Razz, Snoopy, Uncle Jesse, Little Bo Peep and Kitchen Sink. I met Hoss, Snoopy and Razz the first day out from Front Royal early on and the rest as I neared Harper’s Ferry. WV. They hiked as a group. When I saw one, the others were usually not far away. Our usual encounter was passing each other on the trail. I would be in camp around 5:00 pm or so. They would roll by my camp, heading farther on. The following morning I would pass their camp, often before they were awake, sometimes they were already up. Either way, it was comforting to see people I know, even if it was only in passing. They were already at Pine Grove Furnace State Park when I arrived. Snoopy and Razz had successfully completed the “half way-half gallon” challenge and were lying on the porch of the camp store looking very uncomfortable for the experience. The rest had tried but stopped so they were still up and around. Their lack of success left uneaten ice cream on the table for me to graze upon. I knew that eating a half gallon of ice cream was not a good idea but was more than willing to consume calories and fat in moderate amounts. We parted the following morning when I jumped north to catch up with Red & Gary. In the short time I’d been with them on the trail, they had become important to me and I was sorry to leave them behind.

 Still more to come...