And the Trail Name is....

For most people that don’t know anything about the Appalachian Trail and the small culture that surrounds it, having a special identity or pseudonym would seem quite meaningless. When you are born you are given a name by your parents and you have absolutely no choice in that decision process. However, on the AT (remember what AT means boys and girls? Correct, the Appalachian Trail) you are born again in one sense or another. On the trail you are not simply Greg, Bob from accounting, Sally the waitress, or Cletus the farmer but you are who you want to be. Simply, you have the choice to pick your identity and on the AT, trail names are how people know you. You might hike 6 months with the same person and never know what their real name is. You sign every shelter registry and introduce yourself to all new faces with this moniker. Pretty soon, you no longer refer to yourself as Bill or Randy but as Raindrop, Horse Droppings, Diesel, or Moonshine.


With that being said, its time to introduce everyone to my trail name. This name isn’t something that makes people laugh or describe a specific amusing incident. It isn’t an old nickname that my college buddies used to call me and it also has little to do with the rigors or experience of hiking. However, it is something very dear to my heart that I want people to know about. This name is my whole purpose for this trip.

One Life- my trail name is One Life. I picked this name because it also my motto. One Life is all it takes to make this journey successful. One Life who finds a path to God will make my journey a success no matter what happens with me. While the world experiences more change than ever and we are caught up in a rat race of technology and money it is very easy to forget those who fall by the wayside. Those who aren’t given a chance by society are who I am walking for. Those people that the public forgets or turns away from are who I have dedicated the rest of my life to helping. I want to always let those “One Life” people know that they do matter no matter what predicament they are in. We are all equal and loved by God no matter who we are. Imagine if each one of us helped at least one stranger in need. Who is the One Life you can help?

So I guess since I have introduced my trail name I also just want to briefly describe what I am going to do with One Life. When my trail days are over and I am back in the real world it is my intention to start an outreach ministry called One Life. No, not my own church or anything but a place to gather during the week that will serve the community in some capacity through God. I get asked all of the time about how I’m going to make money and have a successful “career.” I don’t know, I really don’t know but I do know that sometimes God calls people to live outside of the money and career box to serve. Maybe I’m that guy but all I know is that every community has a need and so I intend on providing a way for people to serve those needs. It might just be a few friends and I running One Life or it could be bigger but the number of people doesn’t matter..what matters is that One Life will be helped.

One Life
http://www.awalkforthefuture.com/