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Morning Edition
Cathy Wurzer and Julia Franz

Like being ‘in a perpetual snow globe’: Duluth woman solo hikes Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail

A woman and a dog in an outdoor setting.
Emily Ford and Diggings have spent the past month solo-hiking Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail, and expects to finish the trail in March, being only the second documented through-hike of the trail in winter.
Courtesy of Emily Ford

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In the words of the Internet, what a year this month has been. We’ve witnessed an insurrection at the Capitol, the impeachment of one president, and the inauguration of another. That’s to say nothing of the pandemic, which is still raging.

One woman who’s been living outside that news — has been living outside, period — is Emily Ford, of Duluth. Ford is the head gardener at Duluth's Glensheen Mansion, but has spent the past month solo-hiking Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail with a borrowed dog named Diggins.

Ford expects to finish in March, and according to the Duluth News Tribune, which has been following her progress, hers will be only the second documented through-hike of the trail in winter.

All told, Ford’s journey will cover more than a thousand miles, taking her from Sturgeon Bay in eastern Wisconsin to Interstate State Park, on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer caught up with Ford earlier this week by phone as she headed towards Devils Lake.