Rick Long's Stories
October 10, 2006
Pahrump, This is Ibex
By Rick Long
When you live in an area that is prone to disaster, you look for every way possible to increase two things: 1)
youR chance of surviving the disaster, and 2) your chance of getting to stay home during the disaster.
Communications is a key part of both efforts.
It was during my time in the United States Air Force where I first learned the importance of communications.
I maintained com gear for the 33rd Communications Group, Strategic Air Command, at March Air Force
Base. The late 1970’s was the heyday of that base and our world-wide com support network was quite
impressive.
Back to today, I live in Forest Falls which is otherwise known as Disaster Central. When the mountain isnâ
€™t on fire, it’s flooding from summer rains except when the weather is cold and the snow is blocking the
highway while we wait for the next earthquake. Given all that, my wife and I decided to get authorization from
the Federal Communication Commission to operate high-power personal two-way radios. This is commonly
called a HAM Radio license.
HAM’s are mostly an older group who have the time and money to talk on the radio and purchase the
gear. Some are younger, with prime examples being Explorer Scouts and the kids and grandkids of older
HAMs. Give them a disaster to work and they get moving. RVs with roofs that look like a porcupine move into
to the disaster area to setup local and long distance communications. They pass messages for local citizens
trying to get the word to family that they are all right. They help coordinate relief efforts as well. They do just
about anything that needs to be done communications-wise. And they do it for free.
HAMs also like to have fun. One of the fun things the Yucaipa Valley Radio Club is involved in is called â
€œBaker to Vegas.â€� This is a annual relay race that is run in April by members of law enforcement. The
racecourse runs along the roads through Death Valley, beginning in Baker, California, and ending about 100
miles later in Las Vegas, Nevada. Each team has 20 runners so each runner covers about five miles. Not bad,
eh? It might be worse than you think.
First problem: There are over 200 teams. Yes, this race started small but over time it has developed into THE
law enforcement physical fitness event of the year. Teams come from all over the United States as well as some
foreign countries. This means there are over 4000 runners along the course. This means they can’t all start
at the same time.
If you stagger the start time, that puts some of the runners on the race course during the nighttime. It can get
windy and icy cold in the desert during early April evenings. The course is not flat either. Some of the five mile
stretches involve steep mountain grades that would test the mettle of the best trained athletes. Team captains
must choose wisely the runners they assign to each section of the course bearing in mind the terrain that will be
encountered and the time of day it will be run.
Since the race is a timed relay, each team must be tracked with a “follow van� that includes a person
responsible for timekeeping and a driver. Since it takes quite a long time to run the 100 mile course, each team
will need multiple drivers for the van. Also, since the runner changes often, someone in another vehicle (called a
“catcher van�) must take the new runner out to the course and pickup the exhausted runner and return
him to the hotel. And guess what coordination of the whole darn thing hinges on? You got it; communications.
For the teams that do this thing right, each van has a person with a HAM radio license that can signal back to
headquarters their position on the racecourse and the condition of the runner. The problem with
communications on this race is that radio signals can’t get through the mountains between Baker and a town
called Pahrump where we have a second radio base station. Ibex is a mountain pass with enough flat ground on
the edge that you can park a few vehicles, setup a tent or camper, and put up a portable radio tower for a relay
point. There are no toilet facilities and no running water. And because the race takes all day, all night, and part
of the next day, you will be primitive camping through the night. Remember the wind and cold I mentioned
earlier?
The first year my wife and I volunteered to help with Baker to Vegas we were asked if we would take Ibex
Point. Not wanting to wimp out, we agreed on the assignment and began early to gather radio and camping
gear along with the food and other supplies we would need for the trip. Everything was in place, we had been
briefed on our duties, and we were excited to go. Then I got food poisoning.
I was up all night, sick as a dog the evening before we were to leave. Because of the crucial nature of the Ibex
relay point, I vowed to make this trip happen and went to Death Valley while only able to keep down small
amounts of clear liquids. I did get better. The radio thing got worse.
The first problem is getting your tower up and running. We arrived at Ibex around 6:00 am and began to
setup the tower. Our communications coordinator dropped by to check on us and wanted us to move the
tower across the road where it had been in previous years. So we take down the tower, drive across to the
other side, and begin the set up once again. Then an officer from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
arrived. He angrily informed us that we could not setup on this side of the road because it was too close to
restricted BLM land and that he had officially closed the area days before.
So now we take down the tower again and move back to the other side where we first started out. There are
several other relay stations already setup there. Some were massive towers from “three letter agencies�
of the government who also put teams in the race. Hey, they are law enforcement too. CIA, FBI, DEA; they
are all running the race right along with municipal PD and county sheriff units.
After a while, a black van drove on to the restricted BLM area and began setting up a tower. One of the
sheriff deputies from Ibex decided to go chase them off before the BLM officer came back and got belligerent
again. The deputy came back after a few minutes and said, “He gets to stay. He says he’s from the
Secret Service and that he can be anywhere in the country that he wants, BLM land or not.� Yes, even the
government boys get into a “my tower is bigger than yours� contest.
Soon it became time for the race to start. We had been told that we would be passing messages between
Baker and Pahrump. We didn’t quite realize that we were actually the hub of communications for our team.
Oh yeah, make that teams. At the last minute, we were asked to support two teams with communications so
now we had to keep up with two sets of runners. As the race began, messages were flying back and forth.
“Ibex, this is Baker. We have Team 87 runner #1 at the starting line. Please inform Pahrump.�
“Pahrump, this is Ibex�.
“Ibex, this is Pahrump. Go ahead.�
“Team 87 runner #1 is at the starting line.�
“Ibex. Message received. Team 87 runner #1 is at the starting line.�
“Parumph, message confirmed. Ibex out.�
“Parumph out.�
Later, we heard…
“Ibex, this is Baker. We cannot find runner #3. She needs to be in position in 20 minutes Ask
Parumph if they have an update on her location.�
“Parumph, this is Ibex.�
“Go ahead Ibex�
“Have you heard from runner #3? Coordinator cannot locate her.�
“Ibex we have runner #3 in route to relay point 3. Reassure coordinator all is well.�
“Thanks Parumph. Ibex out.�
“Parumph out.�
“Baker this is Ibex.�
“Go ahead Ibex, this is Baker.�
“Runner #3 is in route. As is well.�
“Thanks Ibex. Baker out.�
“Ibex out.�
And so it would go all afternoon and into the night, until our teams had passed Ibex point and could
communicate directly with Pahrump. We had to keep a paper log of each message so we could refer back to
them. We used maps of the racecourse to track our runners. The communications coordinator would often
come on the radio asking where the follow van was located or about the condition of the runner. We would
look through the messages for the most recent communications and maps and respond accordingly.
Our runners all made the course without incident. Three were not so lucky. The sheriff’s medical
transport helicopter was on standby, ready to shuttle any downed runners to the nearest trauma center.
Dehydration and exhaustion are the two big medical culprits on this event. Accidents are another. This year, one
of the runners was hit by his own team’s follow van (Hey, that’s not funny!).
I can imagine a debriefing several days after the race. The Team Captain stands before the group and
announces, “OK, first agenda item tonight is.. WE CAN’T HIT THE RUNNER WITH THE
FOLLOW VAN!!� (I know, I know, this is not supposed to be funny). “Second item, next year’s
list of van drivers. OK, guess who’s NOT on the list.� (I know, I know…not funny.)
By breakfast on Sunday morning, I was well enough to eat again. We had a great meal at a small restaurant
in Shoshone before trekking into Vegas for the final ceremonies. All the HAMs involved with our teams met for
an afterparty to celebrate another successful race. Problems would be discussed at a debriefing several days
later. For now, everyone just wanted to be happy it was over and get some sleep.
Next time you notice a large antenna going up in your neighborhood, ask the owner about HAM radio. At
the very least you will open the door to an interesting conversation about radios or radio events and at best, you
might make a connection that will help you during the next big disaster. You never know when that might be just
around the corner.
By Rick Long
When you live in an area that is prone to disaster, you look for every way possible to increase two things: 1)
youR chance of surviving the disaster, and 2) your chance of getting to stay home during the disaster.
Communications is a key part of both efforts.
It was during my time in the United States Air Force where I first learned the importance of communications.
I maintained com gear for the 33rd Communications Group, Strategic Air Command, at March Air Force
Base. The late 1970’s was the heyday of that base and our world-wide com support network was quite
impressive.
Back to today, I live in Forest Falls which is otherwise known as Disaster Central. When the mountain isnâ
€™t on fire, it’s flooding from summer rains except when the weather is cold and the snow is blocking the
highway while we wait for the next earthquake. Given all that, my wife and I decided to get authorization from
the Federal Communication Commission to operate high-power personal two-way radios. This is commonly
called a HAM Radio license.
HAM’s are mostly an older group who have the time and money to talk on the radio and purchase the
gear. Some are younger, with prime examples being Explorer Scouts and the kids and grandkids of older
HAMs. Give them a disaster to work and they get moving. RVs with roofs that look like a porcupine move into
to the disaster area to setup local and long distance communications. They pass messages for local citizens
trying to get the word to family that they are all right. They help coordinate relief efforts as well. They do just
about anything that needs to be done communications-wise. And they do it for free.
HAMs also like to have fun. One of the fun things the Yucaipa Valley Radio Club is involved in is called â
€œBaker to Vegas.â€� This is a annual relay race that is run in April by members of law enforcement. The
racecourse runs along the roads through Death Valley, beginning in Baker, California, and ending about 100
miles later in Las Vegas, Nevada. Each team has 20 runners so each runner covers about five miles. Not bad,
eh? It might be worse than you think.
First problem: There are over 200 teams. Yes, this race started small but over time it has developed into THE
law enforcement physical fitness event of the year. Teams come from all over the United States as well as some
foreign countries. This means there are over 4000 runners along the course. This means they can’t all start
at the same time.
If you stagger the start time, that puts some of the runners on the race course during the nighttime. It can get
windy and icy cold in the desert during early April evenings. The course is not flat either. Some of the five mile
stretches involve steep mountain grades that would test the mettle of the best trained athletes. Team captains
must choose wisely the runners they assign to each section of the course bearing in mind the terrain that will be
encountered and the time of day it will be run.
Since the race is a timed relay, each team must be tracked with a “follow van� that includes a person
responsible for timekeeping and a driver. Since it takes quite a long time to run the 100 mile course, each team
will need multiple drivers for the van. Also, since the runner changes often, someone in another vehicle (called a
“catcher van�) must take the new runner out to the course and pickup the exhausted runner and return
him to the hotel. And guess what coordination of the whole darn thing hinges on? You got it; communications.
For the teams that do this thing right, each van has a person with a HAM radio license that can signal back to
headquarters their position on the racecourse and the condition of the runner. The problem with
communications on this race is that radio signals can’t get through the mountains between Baker and a town
called Pahrump where we have a second radio base station. Ibex is a mountain pass with enough flat ground on
the edge that you can park a few vehicles, setup a tent or camper, and put up a portable radio tower for a relay
point. There are no toilet facilities and no running water. And because the race takes all day, all night, and part
of the next day, you will be primitive camping through the night. Remember the wind and cold I mentioned
earlier?
The first year my wife and I volunteered to help with Baker to Vegas we were asked if we would take Ibex
Point. Not wanting to wimp out, we agreed on the assignment and began early to gather radio and camping
gear along with the food and other supplies we would need for the trip. Everything was in place, we had been
briefed on our duties, and we were excited to go. Then I got food poisoning.
I was up all night, sick as a dog the evening before we were to leave. Because of the crucial nature of the Ibex
relay point, I vowed to make this trip happen and went to Death Valley while only able to keep down small
amounts of clear liquids. I did get better. The radio thing got worse.
The first problem is getting your tower up and running. We arrived at Ibex around 6:00 am and began to
setup the tower. Our communications coordinator dropped by to check on us and wanted us to move the
tower across the road where it had been in previous years. So we take down the tower, drive across to the
other side, and begin the set up once again. Then an officer from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
arrived. He angrily informed us that we could not setup on this side of the road because it was too close to
restricted BLM land and that he had officially closed the area days before.
So now we take down the tower again and move back to the other side where we first started out. There are
several other relay stations already setup there. Some were massive towers from “three letter agencies�
of the government who also put teams in the race. Hey, they are law enforcement too. CIA, FBI, DEA; they
are all running the race right along with municipal PD and county sheriff units.
After a while, a black van drove on to the restricted BLM area and began setting up a tower. One of the
sheriff deputies from Ibex decided to go chase them off before the BLM officer came back and got belligerent
again. The deputy came back after a few minutes and said, “He gets to stay. He says he’s from the
Secret Service and that he can be anywhere in the country that he wants, BLM land or not.� Yes, even the
government boys get into a “my tower is bigger than yours� contest.
Soon it became time for the race to start. We had been told that we would be passing messages between
Baker and Pahrump. We didn’t quite realize that we were actually the hub of communications for our team.
Oh yeah, make that teams. At the last minute, we were asked to support two teams with communications so
now we had to keep up with two sets of runners. As the race began, messages were flying back and forth.
“Ibex, this is Baker. We have Team 87 runner #1 at the starting line. Please inform Pahrump.�
“Pahrump, this is Ibex�.
“Ibex, this is Pahrump. Go ahead.�
“Team 87 runner #1 is at the starting line.�
“Ibex. Message received. Team 87 runner #1 is at the starting line.�
“Parumph, message confirmed. Ibex out.�
“Parumph out.�
Later, we heard…
“Ibex, this is Baker. We cannot find runner #3. She needs to be in position in 20 minutes Ask
Parumph if they have an update on her location.�
“Parumph, this is Ibex.�
“Go ahead Ibex�
“Have you heard from runner #3? Coordinator cannot locate her.�
“Ibex we have runner #3 in route to relay point 3. Reassure coordinator all is well.�
“Thanks Parumph. Ibex out.�
“Parumph out.�
“Baker this is Ibex.�
“Go ahead Ibex, this is Baker.�
“Runner #3 is in route. As is well.�
“Thanks Ibex. Baker out.�
“Ibex out.�
And so it would go all afternoon and into the night, until our teams had passed Ibex point and could
communicate directly with Pahrump. We had to keep a paper log of each message so we could refer back to
them. We used maps of the racecourse to track our runners. The communications coordinator would often
come on the radio asking where the follow van was located or about the condition of the runner. We would
look through the messages for the most recent communications and maps and respond accordingly.
Our runners all made the course without incident. Three were not so lucky. The sheriff’s medical
transport helicopter was on standby, ready to shuttle any downed runners to the nearest trauma center.
Dehydration and exhaustion are the two big medical culprits on this event. Accidents are another. This year, one
of the runners was hit by his own team’s follow van (Hey, that’s not funny!).
I can imagine a debriefing several days after the race. The Team Captain stands before the group and
announces, “OK, first agenda item tonight is.. WE CAN’T HIT THE RUNNER WITH THE
FOLLOW VAN!!� (I know, I know, this is not supposed to be funny). “Second item, next year’s
list of van drivers. OK, guess who’s NOT on the list.� (I know, I know…not funny.)
By breakfast on Sunday morning, I was well enough to eat again. We had a great meal at a small restaurant
in Shoshone before trekking into Vegas for the final ceremonies. All the HAMs involved with our teams met for
an afterparty to celebrate another successful race. Problems would be discussed at a debriefing several days
later. For now, everyone just wanted to be happy it was over and get some sleep.
Next time you notice a large antenna going up in your neighborhood, ask the owner about HAM radio. At
the very least you will open the door to an interesting conversation about radios or radio events and at best, you
might make a connection that will help you during the next big disaster. You never know when that might be just
around the corner.