In 2025, Team Injinji Athlete Natalie Nicols took on two of her biggest adventures yet: breaking the women’s lap record at the Last Skier Standing event and embarking on a 119-day, 2198+ mile-long Appalachian Trail thru-hike with her dad.
In this Q&A, Natalie opens up about the planning, the highs and lows and the moments that she and her dad will carry with them for a lifetime.
Can you introduce yourself and share a little about your background as an athlete or outdoor enthusiast?
My name is Natalie Nicols. I was born and raised in western Maine. I grew up heavily involved in sports in school and spent my extra time in the mountains either biking, hiking or skiing. My favorite sport in high school was soccer, and I also ran cross country for my school, which required early mornings runs with my dad before school. Balancing cross country running and soccer was challenging, but very rewarding. I learned a lot from this, because soccer was such a team oriented sport, and with running cross country, if you didn’t run your heart out, it was nobody else’s fault but your own. I fell in love with running in high school.
I went to The University of Maine for nursing school. I ran as an outlet for stress. During the winter of my Freshman year in college, I trained for the Sugarloaf Marathon in May 2014. My dad and I qualified for the Boston Marathon. I was so proud of myself to be able to do this as my first marathon at just 18 years old. We ran The Boston Marathon together in 2015. After college, I tapered down my road running and just enjoyed the outdoors through mountain biking, road biking, hiking, skinning and trail running. I ran my first ultra marathon Fall 2023 – a 50k – and fell in love with ultra events. I competed in Last Skier Standing, an uphill skiing endurance event where you have to skin up a 1200-foot climb and ski back down, every hour on the hour, until there is one skier left standing. I made it 28 hours/laps covering 33,000 ft of climbing. I learned a lot about myself and knew I had more to give, both physically and mentally.
I had a big year planned for 2025. It started with Last Skier Standing, and a few short weeks later, beginning my journey on the Appalachian Trail. In this year’s Last Skier Standing, I took what I learned the previous year and put it to the test. I was able to complete 38 laps/hours covering 45,000 feet of climbing and became the last female skier standing, setting the women’s lap record count.
Three weeks later, on February 28, my dad and I kicked off our Appalachian Trail NOBO thru-hike. It was a trip of a lifetime, and we successfully completed the hike in 119 days.
Have you ever taken a long-distance hike or multi-day adventure before the Appalachian Trail?
Prior to this thru-hike, I had completed two overnight backpack trips, but my dad had never done one. Many people were shocked by this, especially as we were finishing. It just proves that if you put your heart into it, anything is possible!
What inspired you and your dad to take on the Appalachian Trail together?
We have lived near the Appalachian Trail our entire life. We have driven by the Trail intersections many weekends on our way to our Rangeley camp, or on our way to Canada, where my grandmother lived until she passed away in 2023. My dad spent his summers up there, and frequently did the trail crossing at Height of Land in Rangeley. The timing worked for both of us to take the time off from work to set out on this adventure. Doing it as a father and daughter duo was very special. We saw how rare it was as we saw very few parents with their kids on trail. Prior to our thru-hike, we had talked to many people who had completed the AT. They all said it was life-changing, and we now understand this to be true.
What made the idea of spending months on the trail feel exciting, or intimidating?
We were very nervous about getting a good night's sleep in our tent. As it turns out, our tent turned into our home and something we looked forward to crawling into at the end of each day! Believe it or not, we each got our highest sleep scores while sleeping on trail in our tent.
What did your planning process look like?
Planning involved listening to lots of podcasts, reading books about the AT and collaborating with other past thru-hikers, one of which is completing his triple crown this year. It also involved many trips to outdoor gear shops, to get the proper equipment for the trip. We spent a good part of the fall and winter pack training. We would put weights in our packs and go for walks or hikes with our packs on.
Did you two have any special rituals on the trail—like any daily routines or ways to celebrate certain milestones?
Most nights, when we had cellular service, we would watch fellow thru-hikers on YouTube in our tent, right after dinner and right before bed. We also made a wonderful team. I was the chef and cooked us all of our dinners, and my dad always set up our tent and the PCT bear hang.
What is your trail name?
My trail name is Glam Girl. Five days into our hike, we took a nero [a partial hiking day, often used to move between trail and town] to resupply and stay in a hotel in Hiawassee, Georgia. After dinner at a local brewery, this woman next to us asked where we had gotten our jackets, and what we were up to. We said that we were thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.
“I didn’t think you were thru-hikers because she has her nails done!” I laughed, I had gotten a manicure and pedicure right before starting the trail. She was ecstatic for my dad and I. I told her I was blogging for The Trek and she wanted to follow along. She immediately opened up my blog and saw my intro: “Trail names TBD.” She looked at me and said, “Oh, you should be Glam Girl!” And the rest is history.
If you had to choose one, what was your favorite moment with your dad on the trail?
Summiting Mt. Washington was a very special moment. My siblings and I grew up going camping in North Conway, NH with my parents. We used to pick one day each summer to hike Mt. Washington. One time, when I was a child hiking Mt. Washington, we met a group of NOBO thru-hikers and gave them Gatorade and granola bars. I remember being so amazed. Getting to Mt. Washington on our thru-hike on day 99 and coming from Georgia was surreal. Definitely a full circle moment for my dad and I.
What were your go-to hiking socks for long days?
My go to socks for hiking, long or short distances, are Injinji toesocks! I didn’t get one blister during the whole thru-hike. Our socks played a large role in keeping our feet healthy. The rainy days are brutal on the feet but Injinji socks saved us from developing blisters in wet conditions, sometimes for days on end.
What was the hardest moment for you on the trail? What made it so challenging?
Day 66 in Pennsylvania was a washout, a true soaking rain. We hiked 22 miles. It poured as we hiked into Hamburg, and the last part of the trail was a stream. We crossed under the bridge and reached the trailhead where we would end for the day. We thought we could get a ride into town 2.5 miles away, but we couldn’t, so we proceeded to town in the pouring rain. It was coming down even harder at this point. This was a low moment for me, soaked to the bone, all while cars were going 50+ mph (it makes sense that we passed multiple dead animal carcasses.) We did a resupply at Cabelas, then headed for the hotel. After cleaning up and going to dinner, we reflected on the tough day we had in the rain and how we would do it all over again the next day as rain continued to be in the forecast.
Can you share a bit about your relationship with your dad, and what made this journey together feel so special?
I grew up enjoying the Northern New England outdoors from an early age with my dad, and have countless memories together. My dad is the one who taught me the role that an active lifestyle has on overall well-being. I remember my dad getting up every morning to exercise before work, rain or shine. As I got older, I would periodically join him. Exercise eventually felt more like second nature to me, rather than a task. It was something I did on the regular without thinking. My dad and I have also done a lot of hiking and trail running on the Appalachian Trail close to where I grew up. This made the journey of walking home even more special.
If you could go back to one day or section of the trail, which would it be and why?
Summiting Katahdin and being able to finish the AT in our home state surrounded by close family and friends. It was a moment I will forever cherish. Touching that sign at the end of our journey was an indescribable feeling.
What advice would you give someone who is interested in thru-hiking?
Life is short. If you can go out and do something like this, take the opportunity and run with it.
What advice would you give to someone who has just finished a thru-hike?
Celebrate your huge accomplishment. Give your body the adequate rest that it needs to recover, and appreciate the little things in life.
How has the post thru-hiking recovery been?
I honestly thought I would be ready to roll pretty quickly after the thru-hike with about a week of rest. I was wrong. It wasn’t until I stopped hiking 20+ miles a day that I realized how much my body truly needed a break. I couldn’t really pinpoint it, but I was just sore and my body was fatigued.
What’s around the next corner for you?
Throughout the recovery process from my thru-hike I have eased into mountain biking, running and greatly looking forward to getting back on skis this winter. I have signed up for Last Skier Standing 2026 and I have also signed up and begun training for Every Women’s Marathon in Scottsdale, Arizona in November with a goal to PR and qualify for The Boston Marathon again.
