[SIERA] Pony Express Re-Ride

[John Abrott]

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PONY EXPRESS RIDES AGAIN WITH SIERA

The National Pony Express Association is conducting a Re-Ride of the =
Pony
Express Trail from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, June =
11
to 21, 2007.  This event commemorates the Pony Express of 1860-1861.  =
The
mail will enter Nevada on June 18th from Ibapah, Utah, and departs from
Carson City on June 20th.

The re-ride is a 10-day, 24-hour a day, non-stop event by over 500 =
riders
and horses. The 1,966 mile route will be over the Pony Express National
Historic Trail from Missouri through Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, =
Wyoming,
Utah, and Nevada to California. It is the longest event held annually on =
a
historical trail in the nation, even surpassing the famed Iditarod.

In 1989 the local Amateur Radio club SIERA (Sierra Intermountain =
Emergency
Radio Association) started providing communications for the Pony Express
Reride across the state of Nevada.  SIERA has been providing this =
service
every year since.=20

Each year Amateur Radio operators, mostly members of SIERA, support the =
Pony
express by providing radio communications .  For each sector of the =
route
across Nevada there is a local VHF net for communications within the =
sector
and to neighboring sectors. Whenever possible, the radio operators =
follow
the rider. When that is not possible, they wait at designated locations, =
and
when the pony arrives they then send radio messages to the operator at =
the
next accessible location.=20

Updates are sent from each sector on a regular basis to a series of ham
radio base operators in the Carson Valley.  When the sector is near the
Carson Valley, the communications to the monitoring station is by VHF.
Sectors in the mid to eastern portions of Nevada, are communicated by =
HF.=20

The radio operators report the location of the mail, as the riders=92 =
race
across Nevada following the original Pony Express route.  By tracking =
the
location of the mail, other riders know when to expect the mail at their
location.  In the event of a emergency for either the rider or the =
horse,
communicators can summon help. Using the GPS (Global Position System) =
and
maps, accurate locations are reported.

This type of event allows the radio operators to use their radio =
equipment
in a field environment.  Portable power sources, antennas and radio
equipment are placed into operation to pass radio messages.  This type =
of
event and continuous training keep the amateur radio operators prepared =
for
emergency communications.

The Pony Express met it=92s demise with the telegraph.  Messages could =
be sent
across the states in a very short time by telegraph, versus days by way =
of
the pony.   Today, radio communications support the pony as it moves the
mail across Nevada. =20

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.=20
Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.14/845 - Release Date: =
6/12/2007
6:39 AM
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