Single Mom and Her 13 Kids Thru-Hiked the Appalachian Trail—What’s Next?

50 Campfires

In perhaps the ultimate feat of outdoor family living, a single mom named Nikki Bettis and 13 of her 15 children have officially completed their thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (AT). In August, we reported that this remarkable family was 1,300 miles into their hike, and last weekend, Bettis took to Facebook to officially announce that they have completed the nearly 2,200-mile trek—from Georgia to Maine.

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“We have completed our goal of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail as a family,” wrote Bettis. “The past few weeks have been emotional as the gravity sets in of just how life changing a thru hike has been for our family. What we started fairly quietly as a family we also wanted to spend the last few weeks ending quietly as a family. Our days of online silence have been filled with laughter, hiking our last remaining miles in some of the most beautiful places we’ve ever seen, campfires, our first snow of the AT, memories that long outlive me and hopefully leave a legacy for my kids.”

Bettis says that the family chose to celebrate with a small intimate gathering rather than having a large summit celebration, which she hopes to postpone for a later date.

thru-hike — *Image by Nikki Bettis, 32 Feet Up*

The Bettis family, including Nikki and 13 of her children, who range from toddler-aged to early 20s, began their hike in March 2023. Two additional children (making a total of 15) elected to stay behind to take care of the family’s home and dogs, although they did join the hike for sections of the trail whenever possible.

After eight months of the AT, if you’re wondering where this trail-blazing family will go from here, we have a clue:

“After 4 days of solid work and unpacking from a thru hike of an insane number of people we set out tomorrow to find another trail,” Bettis wrote on Facebook. “Maybe backpacking White Rock/Sand Cave loop. Maybe Rock Castle Gorge. It’s time to sleep outside again and breathe some mountain air.”

It seems trail life is already calling.