The phone rang early yesterday, around 6:30 CST.

“Hey. We’ve been paddling all day and just stopped on Devlin Island about 20 miles from Beaver,” Mingo tells me. “It was a fairly nice day. Did you talk to Crys yesterday?”

“Yes, I did,” I tell him. “So you got un-lost?” I ask.

“Yeah. There’s not as many islands down here. You just get caught in a channel and you can’t figure out where you are,” he explains. “Navigating this river is tricky. The maps don’t do the area justice. Now we’re just kinda crusin’. It looks like it’s gonna rain again though. Did Crys tell you about the bears?” he asks me.

“Bears! Um, no,” I respond.

“Yeah, we had big bear prints all around camp last night,” he says excitedly. “Looked like big blackies. We got up and looked around but couldn’t find them. I slept with my shotgun. In the morning there were more prints a little farther out. Never saw them but I got some pictures of the prints.”

We talk a little more about how his shoulder is doing. He’s dealing with the pain and numbness and trying to figure out what he wants to do when he gets to the bridge in 2-3 days. He’s balancing his desire to continue with the pain and loss of mobility in his shoulder.

Just as we finish up talking about his options when he gets to the bridge, the sat connection drops. I try calling back and get him on the line for about 30 seconds more, then neither of us can reconnect.

It doesn’t worry me. He sounds like he’s doing well and Crys and I have a few research tasks to complete. Today we’re checking on options for him when he gets to the bridge. If he decides he is not going to continue because of his shoulder, we need to figure out a way to get him back to his truck (or have someone drive his truck up to pick him up). We’ll keep you posted on what we find out!

P.S. – If you have any ideas or leads that would help us arrange for a pickup, please email us at webmaster@mingomorvin.com. Thank you!!

Crystal (Mingo’s youngest daughter) was the lucky one to get a call from Mingo last night. Here is a quick update from an email she sent to me about how Mingo, Ulley and Marcus spent their Sunday on the Yukon.

“Here’s Mingo’s position: N 66 3202 / W 146 2038. I hope you know what those numbers mean. He said his shoulder is still hurting and his hand is numb.

Oh, and they are lost and are not sure where they are. There are lots of islands so the route gets very convoluted. They hope to be on track again tomorrow and they only made it about 20 miles today because they got lost. But some nice people they met gave them chocolate cake and ice cream (I know, very random!). Apparently people in Alaska are very nice. They hope to make it to Beaver tomorrow (Monday).

Um, I think that is all he said. He sounded good. Not stressed, but not happy either.”

As you can see, I had a busy day yesterday getting some of Mingo’s pictures and journal excerpts published on the blog and getting the sponsors section updated on his website. In the middle of all this excitement, Mingo called to check in and fill me in on his day kayaking the previous day (Saturday 6/27).

“Hey Lib. It rained like a big dog yesterday,” Mingo began. “Got hit by a microburst. We were paddling then all of a sudden the wind picked up to 40-50 miles an hour. Had to paddle like dogs to get back to shore,” Mingo tells me. “Then it rained hard for the next 2½ - 3 hours. It was a good day today because everyone was safe but it was sure wet and miserable.”

“But we got into Fort Yukon and were welcomed by everyone. They gave us chocolate and 2 5-gallon bottles of water and let me charge the phone up,” Mingo continued. “A big thank you goes out to David, Heidi and the gang from Arctic Circle Baptist Church. Gotta put that up on the website. We hung out talking to Philip by the fire until around midnight. Last night we were just trying to stay warm and dry out.”

I quickly ask how his shoulder is doing, especially after a rough day like today.

“I think I damaged something in the upper shoulder. I’m getting some numbness in my hands,” he tells me. “It’s another 5 days to the Bridge. Then I’ll figure out what I’m gonna do. I feel like the decision is already being made for me.”

He asks me to check on some flights between Fairbanks and a couple of small villages along the river so he has some options. I update him on some of the comments we’ve gotten through the blog and Facebook. He was very pleased to hear to hear from everyone.

Along with the pictures (see previous post), Mingo sent me pages from his expedition journal. Here are a few excerpts.

June 16
Left Vegas and Crystal’s house. Headin’ on 95 past relentless, boring, barren desert. I thought that this would be a whole 13 hour driving day. Instead, I found some unexpected beauty near Alamo, NV in lakes, animal life and very beautiful scenery.

June 15
Crossed into Canada and went through customs with no problems. Then started my trek through B.C. Pretty country but I just want to get this journey moving…. I am tired of driving 10 to 12 hour days. I want to kayak long days. It is 9:32 pm here and still daylight. You could easily hike now. I hate the cost of gas in Canada, over $4.50 a gallon. Causing havoc on my budget. Later-out.

Thurs, June 18
Completely insane day. Paid about $9.00 a gallon for gas. Got 2 flats repaired. Saw hundreds of miles of absolutely beautiful mountains. Northern Rockies are spectacular! God’s country but it takes driving like hell to get here. I went to sleep around 12:30 AM with the sun just setting. Up at 6 AM with the sun way up. This is so weird. Today will be another long day but hoping to make it to Tok, Alaska.

Fri, June 19
Yesterday I drove another 10 hour day and made it to Tok, Alaska. Nice to see cheap gas again, $3.20 a gallon! …At the Boundary gas station and restaurant, I met a couple - Mike and Tawnya. He offered his land for my packing lot. [My truck] is safe there and on one will use it. Cool folks…. So logistically this thing is coming together at a higher expense than I thought. I hope that many will help support this expedition. I am a bit stressed at this time. Money is a problem and I am also stressed by the waiting. Make me think way too much.

I think that solo expeditions are many times harder than team expeditions. It is hard to remain unfluttered by all that needs to be done. The next two days will be difficult psychologically. This runup time is tough. Once on the river with my emotions in check I think I will settle down into my job. But now I am stressed and not pleased being stuck in town. Emotionally it is also difficult in that I miss my friends and family.

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