CDR 2011/Shadow of the Rockies - Aug 2011

[KD0FSU]

Hope this is the correct forum for this.

In late August of this year, a friend and I will be driving our 4x4s (Jeep Wranglers) from the Canadian border (Roosville, Montana) to the Mexican border (Antelope Wells, New Mexico) following the Continental Divide as closely as possible. Our route will take us on a lot of back country roads and trails. We are allowing a minimum of 30 days for the trip.

When we reach the Mexican border at Antelope Wells, we will be heading west to the Tuscon area and then north through southeast Utah (Utah Traverse), Moab and then home to Nebraska.

This expedition has been in the planning stages for a couple of years and we are in the final stages of getting ready to go.

We are both ham operators and have dual band radios (and dual band HTs) in our vehicles. Ham radio will be one of our major tools for communication during the trip.

What I am doing is asking if anyone close to the Divide would like to be part of the support group being set up for the trip. Sometimes it is nice to know there is help available if it is needed. We certainly hope not to have problems but never say never.

The best would be for us to meet other off road enthusiasts who are also ham operators. Maybe you would like to tag along for part of our route. That would be great. Maybe you know of trails we could explore. That too would be great.

If you are interested or want to know more, send me a PM and we'll chat about everything.

Thanks very much and am looking forward to rubbing elbows with some of you.

Tom Hiser (xplorer)
Seward, Nebraska

[KT7DAD]

Sounds like a fun trip.
A couple of questions.
You are a Tech, are you going to get your General and operate HF?
If so, are you going to get a "Special event: call sign?
A QSL card for the trip?
What kind of antennas will you use?
What about your vehicles?
Most important, what about some pictures?

[KE7NEA]

Not exactly sure what Ill be doing that time of year, but I don't see any issue helping / supporting when in Az.
Are any of you planing to use APRS for the trip? That time of year were still capable of some very hot days & cold nights in our desert.

[KD0FSU]

We are both Techs. No plans as yet to get our general tickets. When traveling, we use a simplex channel to keep it easy. We both drive Jeep Wranglers and one has a Kenwood D710 and the other a Yaseu 8800. We both have 1/4 wave antennas on our rigs. The Yaseu doesn't have APRS but the Kenwood does and will be used by family back home to keep track of our progress.

Hope to be able to work up a list of 2 mtr repeaters we can use if necessary. Hopefully we will be able to get into the 'net while we are there.

If you want to send me your email address in a PM, I'll send some photos of our rigs and some of the places we have been to.

Thanks,

Tom Hiser KD0FSU
Seward, Ne

[N7IYT]

This sounds like a lot of fun, keep us posted. I look forward to watching your progress on APRS. If you will have Internet access, try to upload an occasional progress report and some pictures. I would be happy to meet up with you during your time in Arizona if schedules permit.
Have fun!

[AD7AS]

This is a good set of linked repeaters to use on the eastern side of AZ. http://www.eaars.org/

[N1AHH]

Also a 38 repeater (last time I checked) system that covers NM. Key one and they all come up. I don't remember the url but do a google search. Very nice system and probably the most useful one in NM if you need help.

N1AHH.RON

[N1AHH]

Be sure to check weather for the areas you intend to visit. August in the south west at low altitudes will be very hot. Like over 100. Not fun. Check historical weather data before you plan a route.

N1AHH.RON

[AD7AS]

Also a 38 repeater (last time I checked) system that covers NM. Key one and they all come up. I don't remember the url but do a google search. Very nice system and probably the most useful one in NM if you need help.

N1AHH.RON

You may be thinking of the Megalink system. It covers most of NM and a little of TX with a linked system.

[KC0NNT]

Wow that sounds awesome! Subscribed to this thread.

[KD0FSU]

Our travel plans are coming together more every day. As of now we have a route planned and could possibly begin our trip in mid August. We have named our expedition "CDR 2011-Shadow of the Rockies".

We will leave SE Nebraska and proceed to Roosville, MT which is on the Canadian border just west of Glacier National Park. From there we will proceed south following the Continental Divide as closely as we can through western Montana, the Yellowstone area of Wyoming, through central Colorado and on through western New Mexico to Antelope Wells, New Mexico on the Mexican border. From there we plan to explore western New Mexico, eastern and central Arizona spending some time in Tubac, Prescott (Overland Journal office) and then north through southeastern Utah to Moab. Then we will head toward home.

I am setting up a support list of people who can possibly be available in case we run into problems and/or people who would like to run with us a bit or just visit. A great support structure is vital as we all know to expect the unexpected at all times and we will be traveling over 6000 miles in 30+ days.

We definitely would like to meet others who share our passion for off road, ham radio and exploring new areas. Best would be a list that covers the entire route from Canada to Mexico through Arizona and Utah.

If you can help or know someone who who could, please send your contact information so it can be added to our operations plan. We will need your name, phone number(s), call signs, frequencies (2 meter and 70 centimeter) you use and the areas they are available. If you just want to visit or maybe run with us for a bit, please send your info and we'll contact you when in your area. Do you know of some trails we might be interested in? Send the information about them so we might be able to consider them.

You can send me the information we need via my e-mail (thiser@neb.rr.com) or via a PM through this forum.

Thanks in advance for any and all help..........

Tom Hiser
KD0FSU
Seward, Nebraska

CDR 2011/Shadow of the Rockies

[K7MJC]

I plan to bring this thread up tonight on the Net. Will ask the question about what we can/will do to help.... We know that once they are in our repeaters' range, they will most definitely get all the support they need. Now, how can we help them get the same type of support along their route?

[K7VZ]

You may be thinking of the Megalink system. It covers most of NM and a little of TX with a linked system.

Make sure you have the Megalink info with you while in New Mexico. This system looks awesome. I plan on using it next week on my trip through NM.

http://www.nm5ml.com/

http://www.nm5ml.com/nm5ml_map.jpg

[KD0FSU]

We definitely have the Mega Link system on board. Awesome system. It will come in handy to have.

Another linked system we have is the Sinbad Desert linked system in Utah. http://www.sdarc.us/repeaters/cedar.html We used this system in 2009 when we were in the San Rafael Swell desert for 6 days. Works great.

Thanks Virgil,

Tom KD0FSU

[K7DCL]

Tom,
Would you like me to change the title to "CDR 2011/Shadow of the Rockies - Aug 2011"
David
K7DCL

[KD0FSU]

That would be good, thanks.

We are gradually getting all our ducks in a row for the trip. About 10 weeks away but that will go by fast. Lots of mechanical issues to get through.

We have nearly all the 2 meter freqs we will need. Glad to have the linked systems in NM, AZ and UT to use if we need them. Edit: Now we can add Colorado to the list.

Visit the blog we started about the trip for updates. We will do our best to keep it updated daily while we are on the road.

http://cdr2011-shadowoftherockies.blogspot.com/

Thanks again,

Tom KD0FSU

[AC0VH]

Add the Colorado Connection, our state-wide linked repeater system.

http://www.colcon.org

There is also a few key daily nets in case you need help.

Every morning at 0630-0730 there is the Colorado Amateur Radio Weather Net that's on the 146.940 repeater in Denver metro (excellent Front Range coverage) and state-wide at 3.945MHz on 75m.

There is a daily 1930 net on the connected repeaters, the Central Colorado Traffic net.

[KD0FSU]

Thanks very much,

This info has filled a huge void. I already had a couple of the freqs but not all of them. The system is situated along our entire route through the state. Perfect fit. I'll be sure to add the system to our blog.

Thank you and 73s AC0VH

Tom KD0FDSU


Add the Colorado Connection, our state-wide linked repeater system.

http://www.colcon.org

There is also a few key daily nets in case you need help.

Every morning at 0630-0730 there is the Colorado Amateur Radio Weather Net that's on the 146.940 repeater in Denver metro (excellent Front Range coverage) and state-wide at 3.945MHz on 75m.

There is a daily 1930 net on the connected repeaters, the Central Colorado Traffic net.

[K7VZ]

I'm watching for their progress. Nebraska departure is supposed to be today.

[KD0FSU]

I'm watching for their progress. Nebraska departure is supposed to be today.

Virgil,

We had a bit of a set back and our departure will be delayed a couple of days. Two days ago, one of the Jeeps decided it was time for the steering box to explode. We are hoping the part will come in today and we will leave tomorrow. If it comes in tomorrow, then it will be Saturday. We are all eager to get underway but steering is kind of a big thing.

Our "Spot" links are:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0A14B8jb1l3Flz1CnAoqiNRe5A9Ou2P qz

http://www.spotadventures.com/trip/view/?trip_id=273622

These will be active when we depart.

We'll be on our way as soon as we can get everything to steer straight down the road.

Hope to see you when we get to the southern part of the expedition. The majority of the time we will be on simplex freqs 146.595 or 146.495. We'll most likely monitor the Mega Link or EAARS when in southern CO, NM and AZ. .

Tom Hiser KD0FSU

[KD0FSU]

Virgil and all 4x4 hams.

We have the vehicles fixed and our CDR is a GO for tomorrow morning (25th) with an 0630 departure time. We hope to reach the Canadian border sometime Monday and we will begin our southward expedition exploring the Continental Divide.

Be sure to check our blog for updates and keep track of our progress via the Spot system.

Tom Hiser KD0FSU

[KC0NNT]

Awesome! Will do. You guys be safe. I bet you are excited!

[K7VZ]

Last update to the blog was almost a week ago, but their spot shows them hitting New Mexico already.

[KC0NNT]

Would be nice to connect with them some how.

[KC0NNT]

Looks like they are North of Tucson now. Hope we make contact tomorrow.

[KD0FSU]

Randy and all.

We are currently in Tubac and laying low at the Grumpy Gringo. We all felt like we have been rode hard and put away wet after running the divide. However, it was worth the effort so we can now say we finished that part of our trip. It has been an absolute blast so far.

When we leave here we plan to head north and check out the Crown King Trail on the way to Prescott where we will visit the Overland Journal office and the folks there. After that we will work our way toward Flagstaff and then north the Mexican Hat, UT before we head into the Manti La Sal forest and Canyonlands. Then it will be a mandatory stop in Moab at the Moab Brewery.

I think after that we will all be ready to head home. We left there on August 26 and it will be good to be back there.

If you are in the area of Tubac, give me a holler. We will probably be here at least one more day, if not two.

Tom Hiser
KD0FSU

402 641 9838

[K7VZ]

Tom, there just happens to be a group running the Backway to Crown King this coming Saturday. I know Randy is going with them, so you might want to look into joining up. http://www.meetup.com/The-Phoenix-East-Valley-4x4-Meetup-Group/events/28028221/

[KC0NNT]

I sent him a PM, hope we can meet up.