how I got the name--- Hoov

During my trek around the Annapurna Circuit with Room to Read I picked up the trail name "Hoov". After a week on the trek as the ten of us were finishing up lunch, John Wood, founder of Room to Read, observed that I was just like a Hoover Vacuum cleaner by sucking up all of the leftover food at most of our meal stops. From that day on, my fellow Trekkers called me "Hoov". I continued with that trail name when I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada.

Here I am at the summit of 17,769 foot Throng La Pass after starting this trek at Besi Sahar at an altitude of 2,700 feet. While in Nepal, we visited eight schools and libraries that Room to Read helped villagers build.

As of March 2012, Room to Read has opened over 13,170 libraries with 10 million local language books which includes 707 different self published local language books in 27 languages across 10 countries. R2R now has 13,726 girls on long-term scholarships and has opened 1,592 schools benefitting 6 million children. if you are interested in learning more about R2R, or donating, tell them "Hoov" sent you. here is their link: www.roomtoread.org .

John Wood, founder of R2R reading to students in Simle, Nepal just before our trek.