Our Stories
Tara Atkinson: NCNST Long Distance Hiker
Tara Atkinson
Central patch + Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, 1000 miles and 2000 miles
On April 14, 2025, I flew from Portland, Oregon to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Though I had done some research on the NCT, I didn’t yet know about the wonderful trail angel networks or the Chapter coordinators who do so much with the trail. So, I took a very expensive Uber ride to Croton Dam, MI and began hiking around 6 p.m.
Excited for my NCT journey to begin, restless from a full day of travel and still on Pacific time, I hiked until a bit after sunset, getting in my first 8 miles before setting up my tent for the night. I was up early the next morning continuing the journey south through the lower peninsula of Michigan.
Just over a month later on May 18, I had trekked over 875 continuous miles on NCT and was in the Old Man Cave section in Southern Ohio. On this day, I had also hiked exactly 10,000 miles in the last 4 years.
On May 18, 2021, I began my first thru-hike on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). In the 4 years since, I have finished the PCT, the Arizona Trail, the Oregon Coast Trail, the Ice Age Trail, the Florida Trail, the Appalachian Trail, and the Potomac Heritage Trail. The NCT was to be my seventh (of 11 total) National Scenic Trails.
I kept on hiking until June 9 when I reached Foxburg, PA: 1,424 miles into the eastern half of the trail. At this point it was time for a scheduled, but also needed, trail break. My oldest son was getting married in Oregon. So, I flew from Pittsburgh to Portland where I rested and wedding prepped for a few weeks. I flew back to Pittsburgh on July 3, and picked up right where I left off in Foxburg.
It took me until August 11 to reach the eastern terminus in Vermont and complete the eastern half of the trail. I always enjoy seeing so much of the county at 2-3 mph. The NCT is so varied in terrain, I never got bored. It was interesting to walk from the farming flat lands into the hills and mountains, through forest and gorges, small towns, and bigger cities, over creeks, and rivers and by so many lakes. I enjoyed the towpaths, the rails-to-trails, the actual trails, and I always enjoy the greater speed when road walking whether on gravel, pavement or dirt.
One thing I have learned on my hikes is that while walking on actual trail in remote places you get to see the county, but when road-walking you get to understand the culture of a place. This trail covers some beautiful country, but I think I will remember the culture and kind people I met along the way the most. I was taken in by many trail angels to shower, do laundry, share a meal, resupply and maybe sleep in a bed for the night.
Until the last 25 miles when the NCT overlaps with the Long Trail, I saw very few backpackers along the trail, so my company and the trail culture I experienced were almost all trail angels, people in towns, folks that stopped their vehicles on the road to chat, and other chance encounters.
It was a wonderful adventure! I am hoping to return to Croton Dam, MI, next spring and begin hiking west to finish up the entire trail. I can’t wait to see what the rest of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota have to offer.
Learn more about long distance hiker recognition at explorenct.info/NoCoLo/index.htm.
