In the face of personal, family and business challenges, Nikki Bettis gathered her 13 children, convinced them to walk the Maine-to-Georgia Appalachian Trail and then went out and did it.
Photo Above: “Reaching the quarter-way sign in southwest Virginia was a huge milestone,” says Nikki Bettis (left). “We felt like we’d finally found our groove.”
Photos Courtesy Bettis Family.
Nikki Bettis stood on the stone viewing platform at the 4,049-foot summit of Hawksbill Mountain awed by 360-degree views of Shenandoah National Park, its namesake valley and a seemingly endless horizon of Alleghany Mountains hilling off to the west. Tears streaked her cheeks as her 13 kids shouldered their packs and fell into a motley single-file line heading north on the connector that would bring them back to the Appalachian Trail.
“That’s when I felt sure that we were really going to finish,” says Bettis, a 49-year-old single mom from Danville, Virginia. “I realized we were going to accomplish something major—and we were going to do it as a family.”
The 4- to 19-year-old troop had by then been on the AT for nearly five months and hiked about 930 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia. Reading tales in online forums about trying to thru-hike long distances with even one or two kids in tow had brought serious worries. But with the now-seasoned trekkers crushing miles like nobody’s business?
“I felt so much pride,” says Bettis. “It was like, ‘Are these the same kids?’ Their confidence was through-the-roof.”
The family rode the momentum to the summit of Mount Katahdin in Maine and a flip-finish through Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park on October 19, 2023. Bettis says they came away feeling validated in taking on an adventure some called impossible.
“The idea was to use the trip to get away, help each other heal and have a great time,” she says. The close-knit family had been through a contentious divorce and the closure of two small businesses within three years. Bettis figured they’d finish at least half of the trail, but the outcome eclipsed her wildest hopes.
“It was a transformative experience,” she says. “We came in feeling pretty bleak. But the journey helped us recharge and build the confidence to meet the future with optimism and open arms.”
Bettis grew up in Texas prairie country where thousand-mile chains of lush green mountains seemed as alien as Jupiter. A National Geographic article about the AT inspired dreams of thru-hikes at age 12—but her parents weren’t outdoorsy and adult life comes on quick.
Within a few years Bettis had gone to work, married and had her first child. More came soon thereafter. Parenting, housekeeping and careers took precedent. Hiking reentered the picture when a job brought the family to Danville in 2011.
“Suddenly there were mountains everywhere,” says Bettis. She started working trips to hotspots like Mount Rogers National Recreation Area into the kids’ homeschool curriculum—and they took to it like “fish to water.”
Thoughts of a major trek surfaced as hikes surpassed 15 miles and began to include campouts. But with so many responsibilities—by 2019 Bettis was a mom of 15, owned a coffee shop and was helping her oldest boys scale up a custom furniture business—she knew it would have to wait.
Then came the pandemic. Bettis’s husband left and severed ties with the family. Mandated closures and supply chain issues shuttered both businesses. The household slipped into a funk.
“It was a lot to process and I knew we needed to do something,” says Bettis. Inspiration struck when she met a couple thru-hiking the Virginia span of AT with their two young kids in fall 2022: Why not parlay the interregnum into a once-in-a-lifetime adventure?
Bettis pitched her kids and all but two quickly came onboard. They made preparations and set out for Springer Mountain on March 8. The hike started with some bumps.
“We had to make a lot of adjustments,” she says. Five-mile days, for instance, signaled they’d overpacked. Their first meetup with sibling support driver, Grayson, saw them shed 15 to 20 pounds each.
Their resupply strategy also had flaws. Grayson planned to drive from Danville to meet them at designated points for weekly Walmart runs. But limited firsthand trail knowledge, unreliable progress, weather and cellular service made it precarious.
“We lucked out and pretty quickly made some amazing friends,” says Bettis, referring to legendary AT shuttle drivers Bobby The Greek and Smoky The Bear. They assumed primary support duties, helped the family fine-tune logistics and secure stays with trailside friends. Smoky stayed onboard for the duration.
“That’s when I began to realize the AT is much more than a trail,” Bettis says. Strangers took the family into their homes, fed them, provided showers and saw them off with goodies. Churches and town officials invited them to cookouts. The list goes on. “There’s a magical community of people who go out of their way to support you and help you have an amazing adventure,” says Bettis.
The trip wasn’t all rainbows—it rained on-and-off for two weeks while nighttime temperatures dipped well below freezing, for example—but Bettis says it was worth it. The family enjoyed the experience so much they’re planning a 2026 follow-up on the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.
“I got to watch my kids come together and grow in ways that would never have been possible if we’d stayed home,” says Bettis. “We’re healthier, happier and stronger than we’ve ever been, and we have the AT to thank for it.”
The story above first appeared in our January / February 2025 issue.
