Mingo made it to the Dalton Highway Bridge yesterday after a relatively “easy paddle.” Mingo, Ulley and Marcus found someplace to set up camp, then promptly went to take advantage of the shower facilities at the bridge.

“It’s a ten-dollar shower, but it does come with a towel,” Mingo told me yesterday on the phone. “You better believe I’m going to take advantage of that. It was the best ten-dollar shower I’ve ever had. I don’t even feel ripped off,” he laughed.

Later in the day he called to tell me they were “just cruising.” He was working with his hand to try to get some of the feeling back into it, but as of yesterday he was unsuccessful.

Today, he told me that he’s got feeling in his arm, but his fingers are still numb. He has some movement, but there is little power behind that movement. As hard of a decision as it was to stop, he said that he is glad he did so he can go home and get his shoulder looked at.

Currently, Mingo is hanging out waiting to catch a shuttle van back to Fairbanks this evening. By tomorrow afternoon, he’ll be back in Tok with his truck then begin planning the journey home (and hopefully to the hospital!).

“I’m in Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory,” Mingo told me this afternoon when he called. “I finally made it out of British Columbia. Boy are these providences big!” Other than being long, the drive is going well. “There’s not much out here but it’s beautiful territory.” Mingo was glad to be back in a major town, if only for a half hour. “Whitehorse is a decent sized town. I have cell reception and they even have a Walmart!”

Mingo has been getting a lot of stories about the Yukon River this year. “All the truckers are telling me the river is a lot higher than normal. I’m ready to see the water to see just how high. I don’t want to be out there if it’s moving too fast but I can only postpone the trip on this end a few days. I don’t want to get into a dicey position on the Bering Sea.” The anticipation in his voice is getting stronger as he gets closer to the Alaskan border. He’s ready to see the river and get out there into it.

According to Google maps, he’s about five hours away from the Alaskan border. Once he crosses over, he’s only about five hours from Fairbanks. “I’ll probably camp again tonight then get a hotel when I get to Fairbanks to recharge everything. Hopefully the campground tonight won’t be underwater,” he chuckled. The tent area of the campground he stopped at last night was literally under a foot of water so he ended up pitching his tent in the RV section which was on higher ground. “I still got a decent night’s rest through.”