Medical Emergencies

Life in the wilds is nothing like the Hollywood version. Mother Nature has teeth, claws, sharp rocks, bad weather, poisonous stuff, and all sorts of ways to trip you up and cause an injury. In some ways, that's what is so appealing about her — she challenges us to be alive and aware of what's going on around us.

But in spite of our best efforts, sometimes there is a medical emergency in the backcountry while you're miles from professional help. Often, the injuries are nothing more than painful inconveniences, but there are  times when they become downright life threatening. That's when it's good to have some reference material to help you through the crisis.

One of the best backwoods emergency medical references I can think of is a book called Wilderness First Responder by Buck Tilton. Buck is an old acquaintance of mine, and he is a man to be trusted. His resume for this kind of material is long and deep. He co-founded the Wilderness Medicine Institute of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), served as an advisor the Western State College's Mountain Rescue Team, and has written many books about outdoor medicine.

This book of his, Wilderness First Responder teaches you how to assess and treat everything from head injuries to allergic reactions to fractures, to bleeding, to cardiac arrest…and the list goes on. It's the manual you will want while you're waiting for the rescue helicopter and paramedics to arrive and take over the scene.  So I recommend you get it. Just click on this link and it will take you to Amazon where you can buy the book. http://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-First-Responder-3rd-Emergencies/dp/0762754567/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Then read the thing and stuff it in your backpack so you have it with you when you need it.

Nope, Mother Nature is not warm and fuzzy. But if you're prepared, you'll live long and have fond memories about visiting her.