I heard my favorite story of how a hiker got his trail name. His friends were calling him One Way. I assumed his name meant he was heading only one direction, north to Maine.
He and his friends were trying to figure out the safest way to climb down a hill. He went first, fell, and slid to the bottom. One of his friends said, "Well, that's one way to do it." And the name stuck.
In the photo you see what I've been doing this whole time... Following the white blazes. The AT is marked by them at least every 100 yards or so to keep you on track.