Follow the Water

Mike Forsberg and Peter Stegen begin their 1,300 mile journey through the Platte Basin Watershed at the Sweetwater River in Wyoming’s Wind River Range. Here, Earth Science Professor Crag Thompson explains how water shapes the land.

Founded in 2011 by Mike Forsberg and Michael Farrell in partnership with the University of Nebraska, Platte Basin Timelapse (PBT) is a way to see change unrolling right before your eyes. PBT teams have set up over 60 cameras from mountains to plains to capture the flow of water every daylight hour, 365 days a year.

Two experienced hikers, Kery Harrelson and Lindsay Dalton, join Forsberg and Stegen as they trade their bikes for backpacks. Hiking through the Rockies with heavy backpacks requires a mental adjustment.

Over the past few years, conservation photographer Dave Showalter has been documenting the explosive growth of a housing development in Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge in Colorado. What he sees is unchecked growth with little regard for the availability of water.

After a peaceful few days on the Platte River, Forsberg and Stegen encounter a 22-mile lake created by an enormous earthen dam. Kingsley Dam foreman Nate Neilsen rescues them and shares his perspective on the value of Lake McConaughy.

“Follow the Water” is an adventure story with an environmental message. Traveling by bike, on foot and in a canoe, photographer Mike Forsberg and filmmaker Peter Stegen follow a mythical drop of water 1,300 miles through three states. Using iPhones, Go-Pros and underwater cameras they share how it feels to get close to the flow of the water — to taste it, touch it, and struggle to understand it.