“Hey. I’m 110 miles in at Slaven’s Roadhouse in Yukon Charley. Yesterday was fun. Today was much more difficult. I’m definitely on the sore side,” Mingo tells me. “It poured for the first 3 hours. All you can do is sit in the boat, put your head down and paddle. The headwind was bad.”

“The hydraulics of this river are really weird. There is so much debris floating in it. You’ll come across these little eddies that push the boat four or five feet to one side. It’s a good thing I’ve got a long boat. Helps to keep me a little more steady,” Mingo continues. He sounds tired but fascinated with the Yukon’s personality, especially right now when she’s so full of water and debris. “There’s all kinds of stuff slapping the underside, debris getting knocked into the boat. It’s a pretty interesting river to kayak.”

“What is Slaven’s Roadhouse,” I ask.

“It’s an old cabin from the gold mining era that’s now been made into a public use area,” he tells me. “I’m going to take some pictures around here, write in my journal and head to bed. I’m getting ready to take some naproxen. I’m pretty sore.”

“I’m glad I got 60 miles in today. In 2½ days I should be in Yukon Flats.” We quickly say our goodbyes then hang up so he can get done what he needs to then go to sleep. Exhilarating but exhausting. Sounds Mingo’s type of day on the water.