Mongolia 2010 Expedition: Injury Halts Expedition

Rough news for everyone who has been following Ripley Davenport on his Mongolia 2010 Expedition. Late yesterday afternoon, a post went up on the expedition's Facebook page that said that Ripley had been injured while trekking in Mongolia, severely spraining his ankle, and causing him to call an end to the trek.

Just a few days back, Ripley passed a major milestone when he completed 1000 miles on his planned solo, unassisted, trek across Mongolia. But apparently while he was scrambling up a steep slope, he lost his footing, and slid back down the rocky hill with the full weight of his cart rolling over his ankle while he was still strapped into it. The ankle had already been causing him problems before this incident, but now it is simply too damaged to allow him to continue.

The heavy cart has been Ripley's lifeline throughout the journey. He designed it to survive the rigors of a long distance trek across some of the harshest environments on the planet, and after some early issues that caused him to refine the design, it seems to have worked quite well. The cart contains all of Ripley's gear and supplies, including food and water.

According to a more recent update to the Facebook page, Ripley is already back home and is in good spirits. As you can imagine, he is recovering from a month and a half spent in the wild, and while he is nursing that bad ankle, he is also proud of his accomplishments. The final stats for the expedition has him covering 1012.4 miles across the Eastern Steppe, the Gobi Desert, and the Altai Mountains. An impressive feat indeed.

I want to congratulate Ripley on undertaking such an impressive trek. Get well soon Rip!