“Whistling Whippet”

In thruhiking there is the concept of a “Trail Name.” This is the name given to you by other hikers and becomes your alias and identity while you are on the trail. It’s an core part of the culture and helps separate the hiker from the person who exists on the outside, in the real world. Or at least that’s how I think about it.

Part 1 – “Whistler“

In the summer between my junior and senior year of college I attempted a thruhike of the Colorado Trail backpacking from Denver to Durango. On my second day hiking, I met a kindly old man named Mike who was on his first backpacking trip ever. This 69 year old man had never been backpacking before in his life and was taking on the Colorado Trail as his first ever trip. And what’s more, he was fast and we leap frogged each other all the way to Durango where we finished on the exact same day. I was twenty years old at the time and felt six feet tall and bulletproof, and this near septuagenarian kept pace with me the whole way. He remains one of the most inspirational people I have ever had the privilege of meeting.

Somewhere around day ten near the Mount Massive Wilderness I discovered how to whistle. For my entire life up to this point I could never get past that airy whistle that sounds like a sad lonely wind, and then boom, all of a sudden I could whistle the theme to Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Indiana Jones. Suffice it to say, I whistled my way through the next twenty days south to Durango and Mike dubbed me “Whistler” somewhere in the San Juans.

Part 2 – “Whippet“

On June 13, 2025 I joined the Grand Depart for the annual Tour Divide bike race that runs between Banff, Canada and Antelope Wells, New Mexico along the spine of the continental divide. I rode my bike, affectionately named Oliver, 24 days, 16 hours, and 24 minutes and about 2,800 miles between the two points. Similar to the Colorado Trail, I met many wonderful people along the way that both inspired and supported me. One such individual was an Aussie named Jeremiah. I met him at the start in Banff where we talked some prior to departing, and similar to Mike on the CT, we flip flopped for the next twenty days. Jeremiah, myself, and two others from the southern hemisphere, Carl and Dallas, became a trail family. Riding together, camping together, and generally just running into each other many times before I eventually pulled away from them in southern Colorado..

Somewhere near Steamboat Springs Jeremiah dubbed me Whippet since I had a tendency to ride fast and put distance between myself and the group, but would stop early to get my beauty sleep. While I was at camp, Jeremiah, Carl, and Dallas would inevitably keep riding and catch or surpass me. We followed this pattern for well over a thousand miles.