Many section hikers and thru hikers have trail names that are given to them by fellow hikers- or choose themselves. I picked up my name today. I’ve been gaining a reputation as a bird enthusiast. I carry binoculars which are considered a luxury item on the AT and I have been trying to share with other hikers knowledge about the cool birds in this area. Some folks want to give me the trail name of Bird Man, but I wasn’t too crazy about that. While hiking today I came across a pair of dark eyes juncos who seemed to be completely unafraid of me. Their call sounded a lot like “pick me, pick me”, so I assumed that was a sign. So now my trail name is Junco – one of America’s  most common and under appreciated birds.