On Saturday, August 28, I had the most fun you could have with Technician-level privleges.
It started a little like this.
Tuesday
Chuck, K0ITP, our club’s President, sends me an email with the subject “opportunity”
Available to do an event last minute? Looking for help this weekend for an event in Kremmling. Saturday from about 11- 3 PM. Let me know if interested.
Not knowing anything, I respond saying maybe, depending on what it is and if I can bring my XYL since weekends are reserved for her.
He finally tells me that I would be helping with Net Control at the Gore Race. What?! Net Control? Whitewater? I’m in!
Wednesday
Chuck then sent me an information packet and hooked me up with Mark, N7CTM and we discussed what he needed help with and logistics.
I was excited because I love to spectate whitewater events and have participated in some, myself, being a novice rafter as all Coloradoans must progress through.
But adding ham radio to the mix? That was crazy talk!
So my assignment was to help out at a secondary repeater location that we would operate if the Kremmling machine was not satisfactory for race/safety comms.
Let's rewind a little. Back in 2020, before I got my license, I got a cheap ham radio and listened to the Colorado Connection repeaters, as well as the LARC Tuesday Night Hamlet and a BARC net that was on Wednesday evenings. It was crazy that fast forward 1.5 years later, I would be working in the very repeater system that drew me to ham radio! And it turned out to be even better than that! Ok so back to the present. I wanted to be prepared for anything, including needing to be at a tactical station) so I purchased 2 chest harnesses which I'd been looking at since I worked a parade and fumbled with my radio clipped to my swimming shorts a few months back. I also made a list of what I wanted to take and what I packed in my bag. Basically 2 radios, some ear pieces, and some backup batteries, etc. All of it fit in a 30 liter Patagonia backpack. I also deployed the mag mount 2/70 antenna on top of my Subaru.
I also read through the race packet a few times. The packet contained details about the event, peoples information, some stuff about hand signals on the river, etc. Many TLAs and instructions, but my medically trained brain was happy because everything was spelled out, which is needed in case of emergencies and to help a few missteps not turn into an urgency or emergency. Very interesting. I love this stuff.
Thursday
The only part I was a little afraid of was where we were going to run our UHF repeater. At first it looked like we were going to try on the north side of the river – but there wasn’t a road there.
Later on Mark said we could run our repeater and net control at a pullout on an actual road.
We decided that I would leave Lafayette at 8 AM and get there around 10 AM – 2 hours before the race start – for me to be Elmered.
Now I’ve been on the stated road before when I went whitewater rafting (ok class 3) with a few friends maybe 10 years ago. I remember it being dirt. I also remember it raining a lot a few nights ago. I was anxious that my Subaru Outback was going to be a problem and that I needed an actual 4×4 high clearance vehicle.
Mark emailed me a screenshot of the coordinates where we would be operating the backup repeater. I looked it up and it was a known pull off – Gore Valley Overlook – and the road looked….like a road. Whew!
Friday
So Friday night I gathered everything and packed it into my backpack. I check our car’s fuel and discussed food options with my XYL. We decided to take a small cooler with snacks mostly.
Saturday
We woke up and got ready as usual. Packed the Subaru with my gear and stuff to keep Kristi busy in case she didn’t have much to do or see there. We also packed some extra clothes since its Colorado.
We set the nav for Kremmling and were on our way. There was little to no traffic on I-70 this late into the summer, with parents’ kids in school.
We turned off I-70 in Frisco and headed north on 9 towards Kremmling. We’ve driven this stretch of road many times to goto Steamboat but this time we were looking more intently at the landscape and talking about moving out to the mountains, having a little more land and distance from our neighbors, while still living close enough to town.
I pulled out DJI Osmo Pocket to shoot some video of the day’s events. It will be up on YouTube in hopes to get people interested in ham radio as well as getting people excited about contributing and club activities.
We passed the road we would be on with the UHF repeater and I remembered it pretty clearly. Continuing on, we rolled into Kremmling, driving up and down the Main Street, recalling memories of buying chilis from a farmstand, and going to the local main store to get giant-sized chicken tenders one vacation. We also saw several whitewater outfits and a coffee shop that we stopped into.
We saw some ADV guys’ motorcycles and they were talking amongst each other probably about their adventures. This was a pretty part of Colorado in the mountains so I imagined where they rode to and what their views were like there.
Big Shooter Coffee was amazing. The staff was very friendly. We sat outside in the swinging chairs and drank our coffee while I fidgeted with our ham radios. I set Kristi’s to GMRS frequencies (as we have a family license but yes, this is not a GMRS-certified radio but we’re talking emergency here where anything goes) and we reviewed how she would use it if there was an emergency and she needed to contact me.
Before heading out, we both went to the bathroom since there was none at the QRV2 site that I would be at. I noticed the scriptures written on the walls of the ladies and mens rooms. Reading the scriptures on the mens room walls took my anxieties of the day away. I liked this coffee shop before but now I loved it for this very simple reason.
A little after 10 o’clock we headed south and made a right on to Trough Road. It wasn’t rutted or anything and it was a road that any car or motorcycle could drive on. I figured the ADV guys probably rode on this very picturesque road into or out of town.
While we were driving we were trying to figure out where Kristi would be able to see the competitors. We couldn’t really see any spots and this wasn’t really spectator-friendly because it was a COVID year, unlike other years.
About 5 miles in we pulled up to the pull-off and got a great and grand view of the valley. Mark was there parked in the club’s van with the mast up and UHF Yagi antenna deployed. We went over and introduced ourselves and Kristi deployed her chair and umbrella so that she could view the river and catch paddlers after the finish point.
Inside, there were several VHF radios, a HF radio, and other gear including batteries, generators, and not to mention antennas on top to support the gear, and a myriad of switches which would intimidate me if I wasn’t a ham.
Mark clearly knew what he was doing and knew was dealing with a green yet eager ham and was extremely nice and patient answering my newbie questions about the various gear that was set up in this amazing communications van.
He showed me how to use the equipment and we told me how we were disconnected from the Colorado Connection system but still able to monitor it. He also told me that we weren’t needing to use the UHF repeater since VHF seemed to work so far. I got giddy inside because we were actually taking over one of the Colorado Connection VHF repeaters! The very system that I listened to before I got my Technician license. Inside I was giddy. But I kept my composure.
As expected, due to the wilderness terrain, it took a little longer for the tactical units to get to their locations. They had to do the real work of hiking in, possibly rafting across the river, standing in the sun and elements, while operating on a controlled net.
Mark showed me that we would be documenting 2 things – we would be documenting bib numbers and keeping track of their positions along the race route. We would also be nothing significant events on a separate form. Very technical stuff but, as a physician, I know the importance of all of it, especially when things don’t go as planned.
There were also some technical difficulties and everything else you’d expect at an event, so Mark waited till maybe 12:30 to start the official net.
Then, he handed me the mic.
There was 6 tactical positions that was on the controlled net with us sharing Net Controller duties on the mic. The rapids were all class 4 or 5 on any given day. Only a few named ones had ham radio operators with a safety team but there are tons of other named rapids on the race course.
- Start
- Gore Rapid
- Tunnel Rapid
- Toilet Bowl Rapid
- Finish (timed race finish)
- Pumphouse (near the take out)
Start would announce the bib numbers as the racers started. Usually one per minute. Bib numbers weren’t expected to switch positions under normal circumstances.
Then other tactical positions would mention anomalies such like racers going through a poing in unexpected positions, racers and/or boats getting caught or capsizing, racers getting hurt, boats going missing. Also, trains coming and in which direction.
Without going into confidential detais, all of this happened and Mark and I handled all of these events. We also had to switch to using the UHF repeater to talk to one of the difficult locations. We also used simplex as needed during difficult propagation to the repeater. Yay for backup plans!
During some periods of silence, we talked about many things including ham radio, our professions outside ham radio, and our shared interest in getting new hams excited to actually do something with their skills outside of operating at home or on the road – as we were doing today.
We also talked (well, he mainly Elmered me) about IP, microwave links, and tons of other things available to Technican class operators.
We were in a deep canyon so there was every kind of problem relating to VHF propagation you’ve been tested on, and as Net Control we had to think quickly and act.
During the time we were up there, many people stopped at the pull-off and we chatted with a few as we had time to. Kristi also was our unofficial liason when we were busy. Next time I would love to have a handout on ham radio to give to the public. One OM traveling with his XYL took our call signs down – hopefully a QSL card will be in our future?
We ran the net with me in the hot seat in the van (and Mark taking the mic as needed) until about 4:30 PM. I must mention the van was very comfortable on this beautiful bluebird day.
Then, we made sure that the safety teams and tactical positions made it safely out of their positions to transportation. After which we headed down to the pump house to meet some of the race staff and tactical ham radio operators (for my first time).
It was a fun party scene, as rafters know how to party.
I met some of the race staff and was given a race t-shirt! I also met and hung out with some of the operators and we waited till 2 of the tactical positions who were hiking a long hike and then rafting, were safe at the take out.
Then around 6:30PM I said goodbye to Mark, filled with gratitude with his amazing patience and recipient of his Elmering. He told me about a brewery in town that had good burgers. I wasn’t monitoring but he probably closed the Net once Start and Gore were present an accounted for.
Kristi and I headed back to Kremmling and found the brewery Mark spoke of, which was 1 street off the Main Street. This street looked like it was part of a town square in the olden days. Grand Adventure Brewing had good food and beers, albeit a little slow on the initial service.
The brewery was also a distillery with polished brewing and distilling apparatus. The vibe inside was fun and casual and people were happy to be there.
We chose a seat outside and took in the views and the beautiful high altitude cool evening that Colorado brings.
Then we headed back to Lafayette. Of course the XYL slept and I let the Subaru do most of the driving for the 2 hour drive back.
On our way home I was full of gratitude and high – not from the raft partying – from being able to participate and contribute in this event. I was thankful for all of the nice and amazing hams and non-hams that were as motivated and thankful that I could be there today. I was especially happy and grateful for Mark’s patience with me, as well as his confidence in throwing me in the deep end and letting me run net control for most of the time.
In the near future, I plan on joining Rocky Mountain Ham Radio for more events as well as contributing to the Colorado Connection. I also plan on helping out in other events as I’m able to for my own club.
I would suggest anyone with any ham radio license take part in local events. Don’t just sit in your house or at the lake listening to the repeater saying no ones on the air. There is a wonderful community in ham radio, and you can be a part of it if you wish.
73,
AE0RS
