Nika Meyers is an artist, educator and thru-hiker who grew up in the hills of Bridgewater, Vermont among fresh produce and hardwoods. After graduating college in 2011 with a degree in Studio Art and Environmental Studies, Nika joined GMC as the VHCB AmeriCorps Group Outreach Coordinator, advising groups on responsible trail use and coordinating service trips and stayed on with GMC as a caretaker and trail crew member through 2015. She fell in love with hiking and the community surrounding the trail.
Inspired by curiosity, she has spent the past decade working with the GMC, teaching the wonders of the North Cascades in Washington, following migratory birds to Costa Rica, making art, and hiking over 10,000+ miles across the United States connecting communities, landscapes and ecosystems.
Nika thru-hiked the Long Trail in 2012, her first true backpacking experience. It kicked off a deep love of long-distance hiking and trail running; today, Nika is a Triple Crowner (having hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Appalachian Trails). To reconnect with the Long Trail in a different way, in October 2019 Nika set the first women’s unsupported fastest known time hiking the Long Trail in six days, 11 hours, and 40 minutes. (The record today is held by fellow Vermonter Mikaela Osler, who broke Nika’s time by a mere 7 minutes in 2021.) In 2021 to connect deeper with the Colorado landscape, she set a new self-supported female FKT record on the 500 mile Colorado Trail in 9 days, 14hours, and 13 minutes.
Nika has been creating a life in Aspen, Colorado for the past 4 years where she is a Nordic ski coach, artist, and naturalist. She is thrilled to continue to be involved with the Green Mountain Club Community!
