HELLO
I am an aspiring winter adventurer based in Duluth, Minnesota with my partner and four dogs.
I started my adventure years as a solo backpacker. I have completed the remote 41-mile Kekekabic and 66-mile Border Route Trails bordering Ontario, Canada, and Northern Minnesota, and the 310-mile Superior Hiking Trail which travels from near the Ontario border to Wrenshall, Minnesota, south of Duluth. In winter of 2021 I solo hiked the 1,200-mile Ice Age National Scenic Hiking Trail.
Recently I have found myself on the back of a dogsled during the long winters. My partner and I divide our time between Minnesota and Alaska. We manage a kennel of over 30 sled dogs.
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In 2023 and 2024 I completed 3 mid-distance dogsled races which qualified me for the 2025 Iditarod sled dog race which travels 1000 miles through Alaska from Anchorage to Nome. I am hoping to be the first black woman to complete the route.
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My dream is to show that the outdoors is for everyone. No matter your background, you deserve to feel comfortable and successful in outdoor spaces.
(Photo Description: Diggins, a black and white Alaskan Husky, and I with our faces smushed together while taking a break on the snowy Ice Ace National Scenic Trail in Wisconsin.)
MY PURPOSE
My trip across Wisconsin opened my eyes to the lack of people of color at the forefront of the outdoor industry, even though there are plenty of social media accounts to follow. With an understanding and drive to show that anyone can hike and everyone deserves to discover the outdoors, regardless of race, gender identity, or upbringing, I want to continue to seek adventure and represent the underrepresented in outdoor spaces.
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People of African descent have a long history of exploration in the great outdoors. At the turn of the last century, one of the most proficient voyagers who ventured into the Arctic regions of the northern hemisphere was a Black man by the name of Matthew Henson. On his final expedition, sponsored by the National Geographic Society, in 1909 with Captain Robert Peary he became the first person to reach the North Pole. I aspire to continue on, with others to represent people of color in the icy outdoors.
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(Photo Description: Face of Matthew Henson with a fur hood around his face. Photo Credit: National Geographic)
