DiemCarper

Not to be disrespectful or anything, but I looked at your profile. Why does this all seem awful familiar? I dunno, CR, what seems awful or familiar about all this? And looking at my profile is AOK by me...come to think of it, I haven't visited this place in a year and I don't remember what's on my profile. I'll go check it out later and update it, a lot has happened in the past year. Gotta run for now, tho, I have to haul and chop a few cords of firewood. Winter will be here any day now, no more time for playing for me today... Later, you nice GCin' peeps!

Hey, yooz gize, I'm back! Caretaking now at the Denali Wilderness Lodge in the Wood River Valley, will be out here for 9 months of solitude, 40-odd miles from the nearest human. Will have occasional internet access when I fire up the generator, so get the word back out on my search for Paul and keep in touch, kay? (I haven't given a thought to Paul in a long time, but was just talking to the new owner here about planting a cache on our mountain and I got to thinking about the "old days" of last summer. I'll look forward to some virtual company...I am a sociable hermette, after all! Jeanette

Thanks, briansnat! I would love to meet up with you and your family next time I'm in NJ. My family of 7 is spread around the country, but I'm most fond of my sister in Butler, so no matter where I wander off to, I tend to call NJ home. I'll probably be back to visit early next spring before I embark on AT attempt #2!

Thanks, sept1c_tank!!! Yep, it does get a wee bit chilly up here, I'll be sure and keep all my thingies bundled up, but would you believe I STILL don't have a GPS thingie of my own?!?! I'll have to bake quite a few cakes and scrub quite a few dishes to save up enough for a thingie that nifty.

AROUND? Why walk all that way when it's only 20,000 feet each way to go OVER? As far as exploring the park in its entirety, it's hard to say how long that might take...I've been here about two weeks and only TODAY did I actually see Denali in all her glory. I've spent most of my time in the Backcountry Lodge kitchen as pastry chef and dishwasher. But today's my Friday, and tomorrow I go backpacking at Wonder Lake. YIPPEEE!!! That'll be, what, maybe 20 acres down, just 5,999,980 to go.

Dear friends, It's been a while, but I haven't forgotten all of you and your cute little thingies! No, I never did hear from Paul, but I thought I'd update you on a fun turn of events... two weeks ago, I did a Google search on jobs in a certain National Park, found something interesting, e-mailed the contact, and within ten hours of that Google search I was packed up and on the road to........ North 63, 32', 12" .0; West 150, 58', 49".7 (I only know these coords because this place is so remote that they're posted on the office wall in front of me for emergencies.) So, if you're ever hunting down a cache in this neck of the woods, drop me a line! (Just be on the lookout for grizzlies, wolves, and mooses out here in my new back yard!) Take care, you wonderful peeps, you! Jeanette

Thanks, Dave!

Well, I would, but I just can't figure out how to work that digital camera thingie... Actually, I only have one of those antique contraptions that uses something they called "film" that has to be (can you imagine??) "developed" into "prints"... and woodintchyaknowit, I don't have one of those scanner thingies!

I'm not making it up, but if I do find Paul and it does end "happily ever after", maybe I'll sell the movie rights! Let's see...Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, maybe? Meg might not agree to a self-inflicted buzz-cut or gaining (ahem) a few pounds for the role, though...

Nope, something like that, and nope...too bad, GPS_Paul/Dave! I'll keep you in mind, though!

I read it about a year ago, loved it, have since read many of Bryson's other books...Mother Tongue, A Short History of Nearly Everything, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, (Tales From?) A Sunburned Country...I can't get enough!

Ahhhhh, maybe THAT explains it...Paul might have been so preoccupied with trying to breathe that he couldn't pick up on my "sparkling personality and erudite wit"!!!!! Paul, I don't ALWAYS smell that bad, I SWEAR!

Thanks, gang! I definitely will take up geocaching...I'm soooooo impressed by the caliber of the people I've been meeting! It would be good physical therapy for this bum hip of mine, too. I have to say, though, I won't be hiking the AT next spring with a GPS thingie in hand, or I'd be the laughingstock of the trail ("'scuse me, ma'am, could you tell me the coordinates for the next white blaze?") I got enough ridicule for packing a compass!

Well, folks, looks like this romance doesn't get a "happily ever after"... I did find Paul, thanks to Lil Devil's tip (he reported a find in the AT area in GA, bio is a perfect match) I emailed him a brief hello last week, and I see from his profile that he's been online visiting this site since, but I haven't heard from him. ~sniffle~ Will I never find my heart's desire? ~sob~ Seriously, though, it's been fun hangin' with my geocachin' homies and their spiffy little thingies! Thanks to everyone who offered helpful hints and encouragement! ~aside~ ju66l3r, maybe someday when my broken heart has mended...

So tell us about the trip. You thru hike it? Or just out for a few days/weeks? Set out to thruhike (GA-ME), currently off-trail recup-ing a hip that seems to be 30 years older than the rest of me...it declared mutiny about 70 miles into my hike. BTW, briansnat, I see you're a neighbor. I'm currently at my sister's place in Butler.

I don't know about that. We haven't seen Jeanette yet . OK, y'all can stop panting over the mystery chick... I'm no supermodel, but I've been told I have a friendly face (the kind that makes babies, kids, and elderly folks like me on the spot!) My one vanity WAS my long hair, but I cut off a two-foot ponytail and donated it to a place that makes wigs for sick kids, then buzz-cut the rest with my brother-in-law's beard trimmer to make it mega-low-maintenance for my AT hike. Within a week I was hit on by two women, lol! So, if you're under 13, over 70, or a lesbian you might not find me tooooo hard on the eyes (keep it CLEAN, my friends, don't even think what I think you might be thinking!!) It's my sparkling personality and erudite wit that the world lusts after.

You geocachers are a fun bunch! I just might have to get myself one of those GPS thingies and join this club for real!

I can't seem to get that nice, funny, handsome man out of my head! Paul, if you're out there, I'd love to hear from you, and to get to know you better. Please email...for screening purposes, please insert in the subject line the make/color of the vehicle you were driving, the weather that day, and where you were heading to meet your friends.