I didn't realize it had been over a month since the last newsletter until I saw the number of milestones waiting to be published. 83 milestones reached over the past five weeks. Some cachers hit two or three milestones in that time. Congrats to all (including me) with milestones listed below.

The first annual IGO TB Challenge is underway with 17 entries. Fishpounder is leading the mileage race and IowaBeaver is leading the "Number of Caches" race. With two and a half months to go, anything can happen and probably will. If you get the chance to grab one of these tags, help it along as quickly as you can.

The 2007 Iowa Geocoin is available to order. Click here to go to the sales page. This is a very nice looking coin and AB-n-AP did a very nice job on the design.

Finally, I have included a cacher profile for myself (didn't I do this once already?) as a way of maybe guilting others into submitting theirs. You do not need to have 100 finds to submit a profile and all you need to do is answer the same questions I answered and email it to "newsletter at iowageocachers.org"

GC.Com Username: 3AMT

Number of Finds/Hides: 1010 / 28

Occupation? I work for Iowa Public Television in the IT department. I have been working alot with our conversion to Digital Television.

How you got your username? 3AMT was actually my wife’s idea. When she was trying to think of a name, she decided the first letter of all of our names would be fun, and there are three “A’s” (Allen, Ann and Alycia), an “M” (Meagan) and a “T” (Trey). I was logging a cache one night and realized it looked like the time, so I started putting a circle around it to set it off from the date.

How long have you been caching and how did you get started? I started geocaching in August of 2005. My wife thought it was a good combination of technology and challenge to interest me. Little did she know it would become such an obsession.

Favorite cache/why? I no longer have just a single cache as my favorite. The caches I enjoy the most are the ones that my family helps with. My oldest daughter, Alycia, has started enjoying caching with dad (as long as they are not too tough) and Meagan enjoys as long as she doesn’t have to deal with bugs or thorns. Trey likes the ones around water so he can throw things in. So these are my favorite caches, ones my family enjoy doing with me.

Least Favorite/why? I thought a lot about this question. I have one cache that I still find as my least favorite cache, but I also don’t like caches that don’t give the size of the container. Yes it adds to the challenge, but I just don’t like them. The one cache I find as my least favorite is Inter-Urban Railway. It is placed within feet of what appears to be a homeless person’s shelter. The whole adventure was just bad for me and I haven’t seen a log entry on the cache that is much different from mine. With all the great places in the area to hide a cache, this just didn’t seem the place.

Current caching goals? I have a couple caching goals right now. First would be to find a cache in every county in Iowa. I am only about a third of the way there, but hopefully I can get them all by the end of 2008. My other goal is to cache in all 50 states. This is a much bigger goal and I am not sure when it will be accomplished. However, I am adding seven states to my list in October when I visit New England with my wife. That will put me at 23 states. So I am nearly half way there.

Signature item/why you like Geocaching: I have just recently gotten a signature item. It is a pathtag. Actually I will have five different pathtags by the time I am finished. One tag for each member of my family/team. So far I have three completed. These tags are fun as you can see a map of everyone that has logged your tags.

I enjoy geocaching because it gives me both the chance to be alone and the chance to be with my family. If I need some time alone, I head out to the tougher hides in the woods and if I want some family time, I just pick the type everyone will enjoy. I also enjoy most of the other geocachers that I have met. Going to events are like family reunions (there are some strange people in this family).

I once read that about 90% of “fishing time” is spent preparing to fish, and that only about 10% is spent actually fishing. Once you are totally bitten by the geocaching bug, you may find yourself, like the angler, thinking about caching, dreaming about caching, imagining the “big one” that seems to always elude your search, and you will think about all the “stuff” you need to bring along next time, and how to organize it!

Just like a scout, being prepared, is a good practice. If you cache by car, your trunk will be your base, and if you have an SUV, it will be in the back area. Pick-ups, behind the seats or in one of those neat new cavities that they keep inventing under the beds. Regardless, it’s fun to be ready to roll at a moment’s notice. Of course, none of us are crazy like those “FTF hounds” are we? However, this kind of preparation will definitely put you in the game.

First, of all, always have a first-aid kit on board. Regardless of season, something can always happen to your skin, so some disinfectant and bandages are necessities. Some kind of poison ivy block is good, too, and as we know, it can strike at any time! You can usually pick up a pre-packed kit for under five bucks in the medical section of a supermarket.

Now for the fun stuff. I have a “basics” container in the back of my Envoy. It holds cache essentials like log books, ziplock bags of various sizes, and pencils and pens. Also in that box are the one and only GPS “food,” lots and lots of batteries, especially AAs for the GPSr. I also carry AAA and 9-volt batteries, and some cables to connect my cell phone and GPSs to a cigarette lighter for charging. I also have cables doing the same for my laptop, and to allow transfer of data from laptop to GPSr. If you carry a PDA, similar type connectors would be order.

Some nice cachers have a pre-loaded fanny pack of basics which they wear in the field. One example that comes to mind is the “BGT Maintenance Crew,” led by the ShadowCachers, who in addition to their own cache-hunting, will repair an ailing cache once found. A kit like this would consist of ziplock bags, small pencils, and some paper for logs. On numerous occasions, with the permission of the cache owner, I will replace a missing cache in the field with something of equal size, when I have a couple in my pockets.

If you are a “hider” as well as a “hunter,” you will want to have a variety of ready-to-go containers in your vehicle. I use shoeboxes to organize mine. This keeps them organized and protected, except for that occasional time or two when the CacheMobile executes a turn at warp speed, and they turn over. (Don’t try this at home; I am somewhat of a professional!)

What do those shoeboxes contain? I have one with just pill bottles of various sizes, loaded with logs in bags, of course. Another contains what I call “magnetics” – anything naturally magnetic like the standard key cases along with created magnetics like film canisters and breath mint tins with magnets glued to them.

Something that may be obvious to you, but wasn’t to me at first, is that you should glue the magnets to the inside of the container not the outside. The reason is that sometimes the magnets are so strong, they will stick to a bridge rail, etc., when you pull the container away. Other times the glue just gives way to age or to the elements.

The next shoebox has my “exotics” which are usually self-manufactured pieces with fake foliage for camouflage, the fence post cap-type caches, containers connected to things like a piece of rebar or a small tree branch. Another box contains Small containers, primarily variously-camoed decon containers, and a final one has the micro-micros – magnetic nanos, film containers, bison tubes, and those hated little things that sometimes come inside of bison tubes.

Ammo cans? Contrary to somewhat common belief, I do recognize them as a valid cache container, but they don’t need or fit into a shoe box. I lay them next to the shoeboxes.

Another great idea is to pack one of everything that you wear. The best clothing is the types that can be layered, especially when spending the whole day caching and the temperature changes. Socks and shoes/boots, too, are good. Sometimes, when the cache is there and you are here, and there is a stream in between and no bridge in sight, you just gotta walk through the water to get the job done! Hats, a good blanket and a flashlight with extra batteries for it are musts in winter. I also include some bottled water.

These are just some basic ideas. You may well be able to think of some additional or better ways to do these things. At any rate, when you are prepared, you will be able to effectively find and hide caches with far more fun in the field than that fisherman who spends most of his time getting ready to fish. Good caching in 2007!