Blue Ridge Country Jan/Feb 2025 - 70

The Bettises
chose to hike
in a singlefile
line, with
older family
members
alternating in
taking up the
rear. Opye,
the youngest,
walked
every mile
of the trail
unassisted
and was
thus able
to obtain a
special permit
giving her
permission
to summit
Katahdin
Mountain in
Baxter State
Park, Maine.
would have to wait.
Then came the pandemic. Bettis's
husband left and severed ties with the
family. Mandated closures and supply
chain issues shuttered both businesses.
The household slipped into a funk.
" It was a lot to process and I knew
we needed to do something, " says Bettis.
Inspiration struck when she met a couple
thru-hiking the Virginia span of AT with
their two young kids in fall 2022: Why
not parlay the interregnum into a oncein-a-lifetime
adventure?
Bettis pitched her kids and all but
two quickly came onboard. They made
preparations and set out for Springer
Mountain on March 8. The hike started
with some bumps.
" We had to make a lot of adjustments, "
she says. Five-mile days, for
instance, signaled they'd overpacked.
Their first meetup with sibling support
driver, Grayson, saw them shed 15 to 20
pounds each.
Their resupply strategy also had
flaws. Grayson planned to drive from
Danville to meet them at designated
70 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
The family rode the momentum to the summit of
Mount Katahdin in Maine and a flip-finish through
Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Bettis says they came away feeling validated in taking
on an adventure some called impossible.
points for weekly Walmart runs. But limited
firsthand trail knowledge, unreliable
progress, weather and cellular service
made it precarious.
" We lucked out and pretty quickly
made some amazing friends, " says Bettis,
referring to legendary AT shuttle drivers
Bobby The Greek and Smoky The Bear.
They assumed primary support duties,
helped the family fine-tune logistics and
secure stays with trailside friends. Smoky
stayed onboard for the duration.
" That's when I began to realize the
AT is much more than a trail, " Bettis
says. Strangers took the family into their
homes, fed them, provided showers and
saw them off with goodies. Churches
and town officials invited them to cookouts.
The list goes on. " There's a magical
community of people who go out of
their way to support you and help you
have an amazing adventure, " says Bettis.
The trip wasn't all rainbows-it
rained on-and-off for two weeks while
nighttime temperatures dipped well below
freezing, for example-but Bettis
says it was worth it. The family enjoyed
the experience so much they're planning
a 2026 follow-up on the Continental Divide
National Scenic Trail.
" I got to watch my kids come together
and grow in ways that would never
have been possible if we'd stayed home, "
says Bettis. " We're healthier, happier and
stronger than we've ever been, and we
have the AT to thank for it. "
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Blue Ridge Country Jan/Feb 2025

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