Duluth adventurer takes on the Boundary Waters in winter

DULUTH — Not even a year out from the end of her epic 1,200-mile Ice Age Trail thru-hike, Duluthian Emily Ford is set this week to begin a new adventure: Crossing the 200-mile Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Voyageurs' Highway. Method? Skijoring with Alaskan husky Diggins, her faithful Ice Age Trail companion.

Since completion of the 69-day trek last March, Ford was featured in a documentary that premiered at the Banff international film festival, joined the public speaking circuit, amassed thousands of Instagram followers and added Diggins to her family. Her Boundary Waters trip is sponsored by Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, and serves a couple of purposes: to continue to promote diversity and inclusivity when it comes to the great outdoors (Ford is Black), and to raise awareness of the threat that proposed copper-sulfide mining poses to the Boundary Waters, she said.

Ford — head gardener at Glensheen Mansion — expects the route will take a month or so to complete traveling about 7 miles a day given current conditions. It will bring them from the westernmost edge of the wilderness area at Crane Lake all the way to Lake Superior, using lakes, rivers and portages. Diggins will pull Ford in skis and their gear on a sled, and the duo will receive fresh supplies from groups using sled dogs.

Here is an excerpt of a conversation with Ford.

Q. Why skijoring?

A. The snow is so deep there you wouldn't want to boot it across, and snowshoeing is so much work. Your best bet is to ski so you can float on top of the snow. It will snow so much and even though the lakes are frozen, that much weight will push down on the frozen layer and slush will come up. If you stick your boot in that, you're walking in water.

Q. How does this journey address copper-nickel mining?

A. For me, showing up and doing the thing is the best way for me to (demonstrate) how I feel about a place or certain topic. Experiencing the Boundary Waters in the wintertime to me shows other folks that this is not just a summer recreation area we forget about once the snow falls. There is a purpose to this place. In the winter, you get to see nature in a whole different way. You can track animals in the snow. You can see how many more species live out there. When you think of any type of mining or land disruption, we have to remember it's not just about (humans.) It's about us as a whole, and that means the moose, the lynx, the bobcat and the wolf. The "Prove it first" campaign (says), if you're not giving me 100% this is not going to potentially disrupt their way of living, nature itself, from the fungi to the tops of the trees, it doesn't make any sense to do it.

Q. Why else are you doing this?

A. The same as always for me: Representing people of color in the outdoors. No matter what color you are, no matter what your ability is, the shape you are or the pronouns you use, the outdoors is the great equalizer. I still want to get that message out there.

Q. What did you learn on the Ice Age Trail that you'll use here?

A. Bring more fuel for my camp stove. Tied into that, don't worry about how other people experience the outdoors. I got messages last year about how heavy my pack was. But when you're out there, you know what you need. I wish I could have cooked more hot meals last year.

Q. What's next for you?

A. I have been doing quite a bit of speaking since I've been back. My hope is to continue to walk the walk and talk the talk. Hopefully get into some classrooms and talk to some kids. Getting to speak with kiddos is a huge part of my heart. And keep going on trips.