Nepal Trip Update

First, a big thank you to my latest supporters, Beth Polidoro, Marsha Camblin, and Laurel Fan from Mountain Squirrel, for your generous pledges to my Himalaya Rescue Dog Squad Nepal book project! That really means a lot to me, and, even if the project doesn't reach its goal and no funding goes through, I won't forget your support. The project is currently 35% funded with 38 days to go.

I also want to thank Hi-Tec USA, manufacturer of lightweight footwear for the outdoors, golf, and court sport activities, which has offered to outfit me with hiking boots and trail runners. I "met" one of their reps on Twitter and then received a message that the company is interested in the project. The timing was great for me, as my hiking shoes are all pretty worn out, and new boots and trail runners were on my list of what I'd need before the trip.

Also on the "need for the trip" front are shots. I made my first appointment with the County Health Department to get stuck with needles. (Have I mentioned how much I hate needles?) The lady said that, because I leave in just two months, I'll be on the "accelerated" Hepatitis schedule, with a Hep A/B shot next week (A and B are combined, which I was happy to hear--fewer pokes!), then one the week after that, and another two weeks later. I'll also be getting an adult Polio booster. She advised me to ask my family doctor for prescriptions for malaria and typhoid pills (ew, I hate taking medication, and those sound so icky to me) and said I take them a couple weeks before leaving. I have an appointment with my family doctor on April 2nd, so that should be plenty of time.

The lady at the Health Department advised me AGAINST getting the Japanese encephalitis shot. She said the chances of getting that are so low, it's not worth the potential "complications." Yuck. Okay, I'll pass on that one.

Oh, but we didn't talk about the rabies shot. (Or is it shotS?) I'll ask Ingo, founder of the rescue squad, about that. I mean, is there a high risk of getting bitten by a monkey? Or a yak? Or ... what do they have over there?

Anyhow, as far as the fundraiser goes, I added the original painting by HRDSN member, Karna Dura, as a pledge reward and have also added a new Osprey Kestrel 38 backpack (pictured here) to the mix, along with a signed copy of the book once it's published, a CD slideshow of images from my Nepal adventure, and more. So if you haven't made a pledge yet but are thinking about it, these newly-added gifts are limited in number (one each, actually), so you might want to stop by the Kickstarter page and give it some thought. Pledges can be as low as $1.00, and every pledge is much appreciated. (Fifty percent of all proceeds from book sales will go to the Himalaya Rescue Dog Squad Nepal.)

I'll be leaving for Nepal at the beginning of May and return at the end of July.