Download Photo of Emily Ford on the Ice Age Trail.
Caption: Emily Ford arrives at Interstate Park in St. Croix Falls, Wisc. after a 1200 mile thru-hike on the Ice Age Trail.
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — Emily Ford’s winter hike on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail to inspire girls and people of color to explore the outdoors and microplastics showing up in our water and food will be featured on the next Prairie Sportsman. “An Inspirational Hike and Dining on Plastic” will air on Pioneer PBS Sunday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. For air dates and times on all Minnesota PBS stations, go to prairiesportsman.org.
Emily Ford of Duluth is only the second person and first woman to thru-hike the Ice Age National Scenic Trail during winter. She set off on the 1200-mile Wisconsin trail in Door County on December 28 and ended at Interstate Park on March 6, accompanied by Diggins, a sled dog on loan from Cheri Beatty of Lakeville. Along the hike, “trail angels” showed up with food and supplies. And when temperatures plunged below zero, making it too dangerous for Ford and Diggins to sleep in a tent, local volunteers shuttled them to lodging. Ford’s Instagram followers grew to 9,000 during the hike and she hopes her adventure will inspire girls and people of color to explore the outdoors.
In the next segment, we learn about microplastics showing up in water and in all samples of salt and beer tested at the University of Minnesota. Mary Kosuth, U of M research assistant, says that over time, plastic breaks down or chips off into small particles that range in size from 5 millimeters, which fit on the end of a pencil eraser, to 1 micron. To compare, 1,000 microns fit on the tip of a pencil. Researchers say every week we may be consuming as much as a credit card’s worth of microplastics shed into our diets from packaging, synthetic polymers in carpets and clothing and other plastics.
Prairie Sportsman celebrates our love of the outdoors to hunt, fish and recreate, provided by our vast resources of lakes, rivers, trails and grasslands, and to promote environmental stewardship.
About Prairie Sportsman
Prairie Sportsman’s team includes Cindy Dorn, producer/writer; Bret Amundson, host/editor; and Dylan Curfman, editor/videographer. The 2021 season is made possible by funding from SafeBasements of Minnesota, Live Wide Open, Western Minnesota Prairie Waters and members of Pioneer PBS.
About Pioneer PBS
Established in 1966, Pioneer PBS is anaward-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing local stories of the region with the world. For more information visit www.pioneer.org.
