Why? I Simply Can’t Not!

Who am I?

I’m Nicole! If you’re here, you probably know that. If not, hi! I promise my grammar isn’t as atrocious as my title… usually.

Me and my dog, Voodoo!

How did I get here?

About 10 years ago I was gearing up to finish college and knew I needed adventure. I was just out of a long term relationship and living at home with my incredible family. I visited New Orleans in the Spring and loved it so much I booked my next trip down while I was still sitting in the old MSY. Growing up, my family took some small trips and my dad once attempted to move to Florida (in a car he and his buddies bought with their Summer landscaping money!) but we can trace back at least 7 generations of family who chose to never leave our very small hometown in Massachusetts. To break that cycle, I was throwing around the idea of packing up and moving to New Orleans after graduating when I watched a movie with my best friend and her parents. 

We watched the movie adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild. We paused often to discuss what this type of hiking adventure – the entire PCT – would really be like. How incredible it must be to know everything you need to live is on your back. How different a person must feel after. Over the two days it took us to finish the movie I felt the intense need to also walk growing in me. I believe my best friend’s dad (shout out Brian!) mentioned that there was a similar trail on the east coast and the cogs started spinning in my head.

My light bulb moment! sort of..

I’d move to New Orleans, stay for about a year, and then hike the AT home to New England!

Of course, things didn’t work that way. I did move to New Orleans which was awesome! Too awesome – the first time I visited in 2015 I met people who are still my closest friends today in 2025. I also ended up meeting the LOML. After a year there I knew I simply couldn’t leave and hike away from my new home. My dreams of thru-hiking were put on the back-back-back burner… but the flame never went out. 

I did move back to Massachusetts and my partner and I joined the LDR club. I now spend close to a quarter of the year in New Orleans with my southern family and the LOML that kept me there. I’ve been working at the most incredible after school program (shout out MAPsters!!) for about 6 years. I’ve been raising my beautiful, smart, and hilarious little sister who just turned 15. In the Summer of 2024 I accepted a long term subbing position that wrapped around January and the hiking bug started screaming in my ear again. With the world feeling like it’s falling apart but my own circumstances coming together, I’m taking my chance. I’m shooting my shot with the woods..

So long story endless, I’m thru hiking the AT!

It feels like all the timing is adding up:

• I’ll likely be in PA for my good friends’ music festival
• I’ll happen to hit New Jersey just in time to see mine and my sisters favorite performers there
• Another good friend is getting married in MA in September which lines up right with my (very loose) schedule!
• It’s the 100th year of the AT
• I turn 33 (my favorite number) right around when I’ll be finishing
• My spending on trail will go to some of the towns that need support after last years storm

So yeah, here I am, geared up to collect another experience, another adventure. Most of my “why” is simply that I can’t not. It’s been something on my mind for 10 years and I need to show myself I can do it. I want to show my sister that women can do hard things, that what life is “supposed to look like” doesn’t have to dictate what her life looks like. I want to inspire the kids I work with to dream wild dreams and then pursue them. Ultimately, I just want to do the darn thing. Also, I’m stubborn!

Who got me here?

There is no way in heck I’d be able to even attempt this without my support system. Thank you to my crazy family. Truly, we’re all nuts and we love that. They’ve got concerns but never told me to not go – they just bought me a Garmin In Reach instead. I’m going to miss my sister more than I could possibly process. I hope she always knows I’m doing this partly for her, and that it will always be important that she do things for herself, too. I’m hiking back to you, Reesie, never away from you! Thank you to my partner who has literally not said one thing against me hiking. John, you support everything I do, no matter how crazy, and I hope that becomes the norm for everyone in a relationship because it’s absolutely beautiful.

Thank you to my boss and friend, Kurt. It would be easy to simply be frustrated that I’m leaving but I believe the first thing he said was something like, that’s so exciting, tell me more about the trail! Thank you to the rest of my MAP family, I didn’t ever think I’d be the person to miss work on an adventure like this but our work is a magical place. MAPsters, I hope you follow along, you’re all incredible! Thank you to my Starbucks family, I’m so grateful and blown away by your support and the caffeine I’ll need to keep walking. Wheelock artists and teachers, thank you for your creativity, cards, well wishes – I’ll send photos! Special shout out to the kiddos at the play who gave me a handshake and said congratulations on my hike!

An awesome card made by one of my second grade artists – wishing me luck with “the mountain hike!”

I intend on blogging my adventure so I can share it with my family and my community, or whoever might be dreaming of or once did dream of hiking that stumbles upon this page. If you follow along, thank you! See y’all from the trail this April!