As Nicole “Tree Hugger” Peters lay in bed, chronically nauseous and in pain throughout her body, one thing occupied her mind: the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.
“Planning for a thru-hike of the Ice Age Trail kept me going,” she says. It was what she thought about when she was really sick.
“I had never done a thru-hike, because I didn’t want to carry a heavy backpack,” she says.
But while she was sick, she decided she needed a healing journey, so she started researching trails and gear.
The IAT seemed like a good fit for her. For one, she didn’t want to be around a lot of people. Second, she knew the IAT intentionally went through towns. Its proximity to civilization, if she needed help, was comforting.
Plus, this now-New Mexico resident thought it’d be beautiful to go across the state where she was born and raised.
After five years, and with the help of a natural path, Peters found herself able to keep the symptoms of her mast-cell disorder under enough control that she could begin her Ice Age Trail thru-hike.
“I stood at the (Western) Terminus and started crying,” says Peters. The moment she had thought about for years had arrived.
And although her backpack was heavy (due to dietary restrictions, Peters carried specialized food; unable to eat a more traditional thru-hiking diet) and a tornado siren went off the first night she camped, nothing deterred her.
“I stood at the (Western) Terminus and started crying,” says Peters. The moment she had thought about for years had arrived.
Peters’ goal was not to rush it. She took each day as it came, not planning too far in advance. “Sometimes, that’s self-defeating,” she says.
Although, the longer the hike took, the more expensive it became—and that was something she thought about considering her family and close friends funded her trip.
The first month of the hike was “miserable” due to her illness-induced heat intolerance. But, as temperatures cooled, her experience improved.
“I’ve cried a bunch of times on the Trail,” she says, “mostly out of frustration.”
And she did nickname Mondeaux Esker, Mordor Esker with its “three levels of hell,” she says. And she doesn’t have the fondest memories of Taylor County, thanks to the mosquitos.
But overall, “the hike has been amazing,” she says. As she hiked, she took in the shapes and textures surrounding her, to inspire her future sculpture work. She also hopes to inspire others with her journey—and bring awareness to the Trail.
