[A dozen prospective AT thru-hikers plus handful of veterans sit around a campfire at Woods Hole Hostel, Virginia, NOBO mile 625.]

RTK: “So, does anyone have any final questions or topics they want to cover tonight?”

Benj: “Well, I still need a trail name…”

RTK: “Okay. Look, everyone, it’s not often you get a chance to give someone their trail name! Let’s take a shot at it…”

Benj: “Maybe something to do with technology? Who was the guy who developed new tech for James Bond? Wasn’t it Q?”

Ramdino: “No, Q was from Star Trek.”

Pony: “How about Batman’s tech guy?”

Benj: “Alfred?”

Pony: “No, his name was Lucius. He was in the comic books.”

Benj: “Never heard of him, so that doesn’t bode well for a trail name. And people will think it means Lucius Malfoy.”

Pony: “It’s Lucius Fox. But more likely people will confuse it with the word ‘luscious.'”

Benj: “Hmmm. I don’t know about this… Any other ideas?”

Pony: “Well, you can call yourself whatever you want, but you can’t really control what other people call you. Sometimes a name just sticks…”

RTK: “And there’ll be such a great story leading to this one. Around a campfire at Woods Hole Hostel [of Platinum-Blazing Hall of Fame] no less!”

[Benj tries to control the narrative by submitting an edit to Ramdino’s 2025 Appalachian Trail Thru Hiker Support List spreadsheet with trail name Lucius. Ramdino checks a notification on his phone and grins menacingly.]

Benj: “OK, I guess this is happening. I used the spelling Lucius, but you can pronounce it luscious, if you really want.”

Pony: “Luscious, Luscious!”

Everyone: “Luscious, Luscious, Luscious, …”

Ramdino: “I fixed the spelling on the support list to Luscious, and made it bold, all caps, and blinking. Oh, and I locked that trail name cell of the spreadsheet.”

Luscious: “I guess that settles it.”

[End Scene.]