Emily: My gear is not rated for negative 50 windchill.

My lungs hurt.

Oh boy... My body hurts.

And my brain's just like, rrrrggghhh.

I'll never make it outta here.

News Reporter: The US coronavirus death toll has now topped 400,000.

News Reporter: George Floyd's death brings racism to the forefront.

Chaunté: When she told me that she was going to be the first woman to do it in the winter, and the first black person, I was like, get it.

Emily: All right.

Hey everybody.

See Diggins here, pulling away.

Ah, well she stopped.

Called her name.

We'll try to keep you guys posted at least once a week.

We'll see you all in person in a couple months and, uh, love you all.

We'll see you soon.

The finest of water for you madam.

Sit down.

How bad do you want it?

That bad?

Oh that's pretty bad.

Oh man.

When I was younger, I lived in a town called Brooklyn Park and there's a railroad right nearby my house.

I was like, I just wanna see how far I can walk.

It's chilly outside.

I had like my Jansport backpack, threw in two sleeves of saltine crackers, and I just walked.

I finally got to some more rural areas cuz that's where the train tracks go but I started in the city.

You know, and I loved it.

And that's this trip.

Chaunté: When Emily first told me that she was going to hike the ice age trail, I know like a lot of people are concerned about her.

I was like, don't let anybody stop you, don't let anybody tell you that you can't.

Florencia: She wanted to complete a thru-hike while she was laid off from work.

I was definitely like "Have you read everything?

Like, are you sure you know everything?"

We had a very difficult conversation, which was you can't take our dog Zulu on your trip.

He's just not a winter dog.

She just started ruminating on that and like, okay, if I can't take my dog, what should I do?

Emily: Huh.

It's not even seven o'clock We have eight whole minutes.

Cheri: Diggins is part of our sled dog team.

She's only three years old So she is in the prime of her racing days.

When I saw Emily on the female musher website, just throw out there that she was looking to borrow a sled dog from somebody, I thought, absolutely, I gotta meet this girl.

So I introduced her to dins and they just, it was like magic right away.

Emily: Honestly I bet that feels like taking off your bra I called her over, and she like looked at me and I like reached out to pet her and she just like laid on her belly and she's like, here's my belly.

you know, like, ah, you can scratch it and was like, just, we hit it off right then.

We've been best friends ever since.

Patty: The Ice Age Trail is a trail that traces our glacial heritage in Wisconsin.

It starts over in Door County and ends over in the western part of the state at St.

Croix Falls.

The bottom line is it's about a thousand miles.

One of the things I think about when I think about Emily taking this on - the elevations, I mean serious elevations.

Fording streams for heaven sakes!

Emily: Nope.

Hey, ah ah ah ah ah.

Okay.

Here's the deal, it was the zero degrees when we went to bed last night and it felt so warm.

James: 1,200 miles is hard enough in good weather in the summertime.

You know, when you're not gonna freeze to death, but in the middle of a Wisconsin winter, she has that to contend with.

Emily: Why you gotta go and make things so complicated?

Whew.

If you go out and like sleep under the stars for like several nights in a row and you're just like not distracted by information that people are feeding you, it just clears the brain and brings you back to center.

That's really sacred to me.

I think the outdoors is for everybody.

Nobody really owns the outdoors.

It's for everybody to experience.

I don't want people to be deprived of, of what nature can offer because of societal fear or what they've been told they should fear or, you know, what's kind of come up in recent years or, or in history.

There's something about Putting up your tent outside, sleeping under the stars and seeing bright stars maybe for the first time ever in your life and taking that breath of air, hot, cold, whatever.

This is for everybody.

To be as human as humanly possible under the big sky.

Everybody deserves it.

Chaunté: When Emily's hiking, she still to this day I believe don't see a lot of people that look, you know, like her, you know, You know, it's just kind of, it can kind of be like uncomfortable.

It shouldn't be that way in 2021.

She won't try to steal your sticks or anything unless you have bacon-flavored sticks, come here Digs James: My friend, Shelton Johnson, who's the only permanently stationed African American park ranger once told me that it's estimated that as little as 2% of the black population visit national parks.

And so for Emily to do this, she has to first remove the internal barriers, not just the external ones that these environments are not necessarily for us because historically speaking, we were not made to feel comfortable in these outdoor environments.

You know, the thing to keep in mind about African Americans is that we descend from indigenous people native to Africa.

And over the last 400 years, there's been this process of erosion of that connection to the Earth.

That spiritual connection to the land around us.

The land beneath our feet, the sky above our heads, the wind that blows against our face.

James: We can go back to the 1930s and take a look at the fact that we had a system of segregation, commonly known as redlining, that physically restricted people in terms of where they could live.

And many times that meant they couldn't live in suburban areas, where much of what we now know as the outdoor recreation industry kind of started.

And you ultimately have through this system, a paradigm of forced urbanization.

And then you add to that the very real possibility of racially motivated violence in wooded areas.

You know, and at a certain point you could rate of culture that is defined by people of color don't go outside.

Shelton: But there's some things that cannot be eroded away.

It is at the cellular level, it is in the blood, it is in the bone.

It is shining like some undiscovered ore lighting up the darkness within.

And we have to just do that internal excavation and reveal what has been hidden.

Which is that spiritual connection to the land.

And we can awaken that.

James: And when we tell ourselves that we can, that's when we're truly free.

And that's what Emily's doing.

This is in many ways, the last act of the civil rights movement.

Somewhere in here.

It's, Shelton: it's the restoration of a people to who they really are.

It's the revelation of who we really are.

Emily: Diggie Digs, what day is it?

should we tell 'em together?

It's day 20.

We've done it folks.

I mean, we haven't done the whole thing.

We've done a quarter of it, which is pretty awesome.

Hold tight.

I don't want you snowing up... This is called the Wolf's Trail.

An Ojibwe story told by wolves.

So the story is the creation story.

It was a first human and a wolf.

Paula: Emily has always had a a bond with the dogs that we've had, but nothing like her and Diggins have.

Emily: She definitely encourages me along.

And I think a lot of people have asked, like, "are you gonna keep her when you're done?"

I'm like, no, that's, uh, I love her, but my normal life is not, is not built.

We're not built for each other in the real world.

We're just associates.

And we'll go back to our own lives after she'll go back to, uh, pulling sleds and I'll go back to tending gardens.

So, I've just been telling her it's been a fun trip.

And then I say, I may never see you again.

What the first human and the wolf do is that they go around and name everything together.

Then when they were done, they returned to where their journey had begun and stood before the creator who spoke to them saying, now each of you will go your separate ways.

Miyigan, you will partner and multiply.

Your packs will run forever through the beautiful fields and forests.

Your songs will honor the whole earth and sky.

And you, first human, will also partner and multiply.

Your tribes will forever walk this land.

You'll be responsible for caring for this beautiful garden that is nimaamaa-aki.

Mother Earth.

Then the creator said, that to forever remember the close kinship of wolf and human, whatever happened to one would befall the other.

For both, there will be times of great happiness and great sadness.

Of hope and despair, for that is the way of things.

You have no idea, you just think that these ears scratches feel pretty good.

don't you?

and I bawled.

I cried so hard.

the first time I read that.

So... I cannot feel my big toe.

News Reporter: A dangerous and deadly polar vortex is sweeping the coldest air in a generation into the country's midsection.

The upper Midwest will face temperatures 20 to 40 degrees lower than normal today windshields are as low as negative 65 in parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

When.

Paula: When the weather started to turn, um, I believe it was negative 35 where Emily was.

I had these visions in my head of her laying in the tent with Diggings and just shaking.

Emily: With the cold weather, I move slower.

I just like hike super slow, and I'm just like, ugh.

It's tough to see like Diggins not happy.

And when you're in the middle of a forest that has no service, the emotions come in waves.

And they last for what seems like forever.

Paula: When Emily decided to do this hike, it was very personal.

But you know, it's evolved.

The way she has impacted other people's lives.

I mean, it's the craziest thing.

Florencia: A lot of people were forced to like stay home for a lot of things.

You know, there was a lot of nos, a lot of, no, no, don't do this.

Don't do that.

Please don't do this.

And then there was this story of this woman.

That was gonna do this incredible adventure.

Everybody held on so tight to this really positive thing that's happening.

James: I really think that Emily's story has taken off the way it has because we need it right now.

It is so different from everything else that we're seeing in the world right now.

Emily: Met a lot of people yesterday, uh, lots of trail magic happened.

It's great to meet all of you.

Um, and thank you for road walking with me, you made it a lot more exciting than normal.

So Diggins, anything else to add to?

I like opened up my Instagram one day and I was like a thousand people?

What thousand people are following this trip?

Who's?

who told him about this trip.

, you know, stuff like that.

And then I'd be hiking.

And then all of a sudden, you know, there would be a, a sign and um, like a Ziploc bag.

Hey, come here.

We got a gift.

"Ah Emily this is for you, keep on going!"

And I'm like, which Emily Ford are you talking about?

you know, like, this like weird skeptic along the whole way of like, who else is around on this trail?

You know?

They're brownies.

Oh my God.

Simply the best.

Better than all the rest.

Oh no!

Patty: She's showing us the value of putting one foot in front of another, whether you're walking out and through a pandemic or whether you're walking through another path in your life.

Ready?

Alright, pick up!

Florencia: I can't imagine what 20 miles feels like day after day.

Diggins is pretty unhappy.

Sometimes you just hit a wall.

You know, the dog's not listening.

It's cold.

The only thing you can do is just keep moving forward and just plow through, I guess, so.

Woo hoo... Here we go.

When I started this trip, a lot of people were like worried that I was hiking through Wisconsin, especially rural Wisconsin.

Alright.

To the indoors.

They're like, well, what about, what about these people who believe this and believe this?

And they have these flags in their yard.

Man: How many miles you do a day?

Emily: Well on the snow, 15.

On the road you can do like 20.

Man: I was gonna say, 15?

You're going kind of slow.

You're pretty young.

You should pick up the pace.

Emily: My pack is pretty heavy.

I'll let you join me, You can carry my pack for me.

How does that sound?

I... I haven't, uh, I've just only met people.

I guess is what I'm trying to say.

Man: Warm weather now.

Emily: Oh man, you're telling me.

Man: That was brutal.

I felt sorry for ya, I didn't even know ya.

Emily: I haven't really met Woman: Can I take a picture?

Emily: the angry mobs.

You know.

Man: Well, good luck.

Emily: Thank you so much.

I definitely think that you know what we see on television and you know, when people are out to harm people, I think that's extremely real, um, and something to be extremely cautious about, but I don't wanna put every person, you know, that is under a very large umbrella in such a radical category.

Woman: Well good luck.

Well, good luck.

Thank you so much.

So nice to meet you.

Yeah, Woman: And it was so nice to meet you.

Emily: Yeah, you guys too, have a good night.

I wanna get to know them first, and you know, be surprised by their kindness.

Where you going my friend?

Have you forgotten when News Reporter: Hospitals running out of beds, log jams at testing sites.

there was a time filled with hope instead of fear that's in your heart there was a time when life was simple Kids: Emily!

Diggins!

and innocent to start do you remember?

Woman: How long can you be peaceful when your people are dying?

do you remember?

Uh huh Day 67 Dig Dig.

We actually, we just have 30 miles left.

We're sneaking in.

And you were born with a voice so open up and speak your mind raise consciousness don't hesitate no need to be better or smarter than anybody else leave judgement at the door, for others and yourself The revolution is in your mind, the revolution is in your mind.

The revolution is in your mind, the revolution is in your mind.

Revolution Revolution Revolution Revolution is in your mind Guys.

So many of you here oh man.

I bet.

Uh, and I'll take off her.

You want yours off too?

Yeah.

She's like, oh, thank God.

this is it.

This is the last time you had to wear this silly thing.

Now we don't have to wear it anymore.

Yeah.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Oh yeah.

Thank you so much for supporting us, everybody.

I started doing this trip.

I didn't realize I was gonna have so many people follow along.

I hope you all really hear it.

When I say like, I really want, I just really want everybody to know that you're you're welcome outdoors.

Here you go.

Oh yeah.

She'll eat.

'em all.

There you go.

Nobody should feel like the outdoors isn't for them.

You know?

Hello.

Woman: Hi!

Emily: Hello!

I don't know if you just don't feel like you fit the bill, like, there's place for you outside and there's a place for you on the trail, so.

Yeah.

Encourage that.

And, and your little kids too.

Like if you have little kids, like they're watching what you're doing.

So, uh, if you're out on the trail, they'll be right with you.

Hey guys.

Dineo: Hi Emily, can I give you a hug?

Emily: Yes, please.

And a wants to know if we can write a picture book?

That is based on your story.

Emily: Yes please!

Dineo: Armani, she said yes!

Emily: Yes please.

I said yes please!

Dineo: So, I drove all the way from Madison with just my daughter and my dog.

And the only thing that I wanted was to see her finish.

I just wanted to witness her coming down.

Emily: Can we get a picture together, is that okay?

Dineo: It was moving just to see her going down and I'm like, she did it!

Emily: We talked about this a lot.

Okay.

I'm gonna miss you a lot.

Oh no.

Thank you so much She was like, like, I don't know if I gonna explain to you, like she was the, she was like the best choice for me to like, have on this trip, like it's so, like, she was like the best dog.

Like she's so funny and we spent so many hours doing stupid stuff together.

Like, I can't, I, I don't know how to explain to you like how thankful I am that you let me borrow her.

So I will give her bag to you now.

And I'm gonna miss her so much.

Cheri: I am so thankful that you gave her an adventure.

It was an adventure of a lifetime for her.

Emily: Anything to say Digs?

Diggity-diggity dog!

Are you ready?

Are you?

Before they left, first human and the wolf stood facing each other, the human scratched the wolf's ears and rubbed the top of his head with his hands.

It's fingers going through the soft fur.

I love you very much.

Yeah, you're a good girl.

You be a good mama to your kids too.

I will miss you.

They both said at the same time.

Alright.

This is it Diggins.

And the first human went one way, Alright, goodbye.

and Miyigan went the other.

Dineo: Her story was just moving.

I feel like I had a dream once to hike the ice age trail, but then being a black person, I just felt like I wouldn't be welcomed.

You know, I think it was also a game changer Just watching how people in Wisconsin, the community has came out to support her mission and make sure of that she was safe.

She was getting where she was supposed to.

So that to me really gave me hope that I can do it.

You know, I can do it.

and not everyone is bad out there.

Shelton: And the result of that, having that mindset, having that perception is that it opens doors that we thought were closed, it opens doors that we thought were doors, and it wasn't a door.

It was a pathway.

James: You can go for a hike right now and you can go as long or short as you want to.

Just remember, it's all yours.

Emily: You don't have to have the fancy gear.

You can go to the thrift store, grab an old pair of Nikes.

Grab some sweatpants and a wind coat or whatever, some wind pants, and walk.

That's really all it takes.