Why "Hikeu"?

We are often asked where the name "Hikeu" originated, so here's the scoop. Many people think it represents Hike U... because Hikeu Adventure Guides will teach you everything you need to know to have a fun, safe and comfortable time out on the trail. We like the idea, but that was not the original intent of the name.

In September of 2006, the Hikeu founders (Happy, Badmoon and Phantom) re-hiked the 100-mile wilderness section of the Appalachian Trail up in Maine. That's a pic of us at the end of that trip up on Katahdin with my sister Boo, friend David and fellow 2001 AT thru-hiker Stryder who was up from Colorado celebrating his birthday and the anniversary of the completion of his thru hike...both on September 8th. How cool is that?!

Badmoon was reading a book on writing,, and one of the suggestions made to get into the groove of writing every day was to spend time writing haiku poetry (5 syllables, 7, 5). Like this one by Phantom...

Happy and Badmoon
Each began hiking alone
Together 'til end

So we would walk along, creating haikus. I started carrying paper and a pen in my pocket so I could stop and write them down as I finished. It was great fun and great entertainment later in the evening when we would share our creations.

About a week later Badmoon popped up out of bed in the middle of the night and woke me up with his clever name idea...Hikeu. We had been talking about starting a backpacking gear and clothing company with Phantom already, so the name was originally intended for that company. We immediately grabbed the domain name hikeu.com and Hikeu was "born"!

The Hikeu gear company is still in the picture, but this summer we decided to kick off Hikeu by providing the best guided day hikes and backpacking treks Vermont has to offer!

So go ahead, think of Hikeu as Hike University, because we fill the shoes so well. But now you will be in the know 10 years from now when Hikeu gear and clothing is as common and well respected as Patagonia!