For anyone who is interested in becoming certified in Wilderness First Aid (WFA), or who wishes to renew their certification, Exkursion has added a course to their Summer schedule. It will be held on two consecutive Sundays, August 5 and 12, from 3:00 to 9:00 both days. The cost will be $185. This is a great opportunity for several reasons. First off, wilderness first aid training provides a potentially life saving skill for anyone who spends time in the woods or any remote setting. It is also a terrific confidence builder. After completing the training, you will be better equipped to assess trauma and medical problems, and you will have a better understanding of how to treat such common wilderness maladies as shock, hypothermia, bleeding, fractures, dislocations, bites … the list goes on. In turn, this particular course is great because the program is being taught by SOLO, the oldest, […]
Read more →Communicating from the backcountry for non-emergency reasons is a real challenge. Heck, that is an understatement. More to the point, unless you have a satellite telephone, very often one is simply cut off from the frontcountry world. Yes, of course, cellular coverage in remote settings has vastly grown in the last ten years, but it is still limited, and it is worse for those (like me) who use smartphones. However, thanks to a new generation of Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) this is beginning to change. Historically, PLBs have been used solely for emergencies. They are designed so that in case of an emergency, no matter how remote the location, one can signal for assistance with just a click of a button. Not all products are created equally, though, as some of the more popular ones have technical limitations, thus giving a false sense of security. Arguably the best and most dependable […]
Read more →Earlier today, my friend and fellow outdoors instructor, Derek “The Deuce” Tirado forwarded to me a newspaper article published today in the Canadian Herald Sun. You can find below the story in its entirety. As a heads up, I think that you will find it a gripping account since it plainly illustrates the extreme ends to which one must sometimes go to survive. And, of course, because it underscores one particular life lesson: It is better to potentially be judged by twelve than definitely carried by six. Read on … Lost Camper’s Smoke Signals Accidentally Start Massive Island Fire CANADIAN tourist who broke his foot while camping alone on a remote island in Norway has been rescued after sending out smoke signals – but the fire he started then engulfed a large part of the island. The 25-year-old man, who has not been identified by authorities, spent three days on […]
Read more →For anyone that has taken any of my courses, it comes as no surprise when I now write that I always refrain from teaching about edible plants and, instead, proclaim the merits of insects as a primary food source. When I do, most often, the look on a student’s face is confusion … Did I mishear? Is he kidding? Well, for those who are skeptical, or think that I must be crazy (perhaps both), please consider checking out the audio link to a recent National Public Radio story: Time for a “Bug Mac”? There you will learn about an extremely popular restaurant in the Netherlands whose “bug buffets” have been selling out. And if you want to learn more about potential food sources in an emergency situation, consider registering for one of True North’s wilderness survival courses.
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Thanks to the generosity of Pittsburgh EMS, I enjoyed a memorable day riding along with the crew of “Medic 4” as they worked another busy shift on the North Side. My goal was to develop a better understanding of front-country emergency medicine. Despite my experience in wilderness medicine courses over the years, I wanted the chance to see the front lines of medical care and to see some of the best medics around in action. Crew Chief Jim Sabo and his paramedics, J.D. and Dalbey did not disappoint. Not only did they provide great medical care to all of their patients, but they were wonderfully caring and patient too. I learned much today, but one lesson in particular stands out. While protocols and procedures are certainly important in providing quality emergency medical care, so is the ability to remain flexible and adaptable to whatever the particular set of circumstances happens […]
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