You did it - thank you! Plus, one week until Kilimanjaro!

With just days to go until we fly out - we reached our fundraising goal to save the pangolin! This wouldn't have been possible without the generous donations we received from family, friends and colleagues. I'm especially thankful to all of you who helped me exceed my personal fundraising goal ($1000) and contributed towards our overall $20,000 goal.

These funds go directly to the Wildlife Conservation Network to help save the endangered pangolin. This poor species is being slaughtered for its keratin scales - for fashion or "medical" purposes. The quickly depleting pangolin population is putting the larger ecosystem in Africa and Asia out of balance. My climb to the peak of the world's largest freestanding mountain is a symbolic way to save the pangolin - but your donations actually make a difference.

We're about a week out from the climb. I fly out on Thursday evening, arrive in Tanzania on Saturday evening (after 8-hour layovers in Qatar and Kenya). To keep my mind off the pending climb, I'm joining a group of Golin colleagues on a safari (not to far from the world-famous Serengeti plain) in Tanzania. Once we get back into town that evening, we'll have a team climbing meeting - then off to bed!

I'll blog at least once more before leaving, but in the meantime, I'd appreciate any prayers, good vibes and well wishes for me and our climbing team. We'll need it!