Page 203 - "Mississippi in the 1st Person" - Michael James Stone (Demo/Free)

DNR Rescues Utah Kayaker Stranded and Freezing to

Death in the Mississippi Headwaters

By Tony Kennedy Star Tribune MAY 22, 2016 — 11:13AM

Utah kayaker Michael Stone, center, was saved by DNR conservation officers Paul Parthun, left, and Brian Holt.

Utah Kayaker Michael Stone had visions of swaying pines and clear sailing as he drove to Lake Itasca
late last month to embark on a bucket-list trip as a Mississippi River “thru-paddler.”

The 2,350-mile trip to New Orleans has become increasingly popular for outdoor thrill seekers and
Stone brought an unconventional twist. He would tow a trailing kayak that bulged with 600 pounds of
food and gear — an enormous cache he carefully prepared for extended self-reliance.

But within two weeks, the 59-year-old paddler became stranded in the wilderness.

He was imperiled by hypothermia and frostbite when a pair of Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) conservation officers rescued him with a canoe on the eve of the Minnesota fishing opener.

“I would have died,” Stone said in a phone interview late last week. “It was life or death.”

Stuck on a mud flat in a boggy stretch of the Mississippi headwaters as darkness was approaching,
Stone was in the early throes of freezing to death when he reached for a solar-powered cell phone that
was low on juice. He hated to ask anyone for help, but he texted a “Mayday” to his wife, Lori, in Salt
Lake City.

“His message was ‘Help, help. I’ll be in trouble if nightfall comes,’ ” she said.