Wilderness First Aid Hang Series

[UncleMJM]

UncleMJM, Thanks for the info. I'm looking at Fairfield right now. Do you know if there are enough trees in the Big Brown Creek Primitive Camping Area? It says a limit of eight people per campsite, so if demand is high we might need two?

There are plenty of trees in Big Brown Creek Area and it's unique in primitive areas in that it has water and a flushing toilet there. We will most likely need several sites though since, although there are several trees, there is also a good deal of open area for tents and in some spots the trees are spread out a bit too much.

When we had 24 of us at the Fall Texas Hang last November, we were at Springfield area and used 5 sites. We had plenty of room for more to hang as well.

Some considerations about Texas State Parks to be aware of as planning occurs:

1. There is a per person entry fee in addition to the site fee.
2. No firewood gathering is allowed. That includes the primitive area. (Makes car camping with a trialer of firewood like we did more appealing.)
3. Reservations can be made in advace that guarantees a site. Specific sites are first come first serve but if someone arrives early on Friday or anytime on Thursday, you get pick of the litter.
4. At Fairfield, they are very Hammock friendly and allowed us to move beyond the edge of the sites into the wooded are further if we needed for sufficient trees.
5. In the car camp areas there is a limit of 2 vehicles per site, (part of our reason for using 5 sites when we could have crammed into 3), but there is a big parking lot at the trail head with no vehicle limit for that primitive area.

[TrailH4x]

Our Council hosts a class at least annually in south Louisiana using Red Cross guidelines. Fees are ussually just over $100 and include materials necessary. I can research dates if there is interest, or possibly help set up a seperate function if enough people are in.

[WarmSoda]

That could be good Running Feather.
Warm Soda... what kind of set up would you see as the most practical...
I would guess car camping in a campground were both wilderness & civilization are both at hand???

I'm sold. Most practical would be a sunny day. The class is designed to be taught outdoors, and will make use of equipment at hand for some scenarios. This would be situations like using a sleeping pad as a splint and other creative alternative uses for gear. This last weekend the class was in a building, but we had the students park a mile away and "hike" in with packs to simulate the wilderness experience. Actual wilderness would be great.

There are plenty of trees in Big Brown Creek Area and it's unique in primitive areas in that it has water and a flushing toilet there. We will most likely need several sites though since, although there are several trees, there is also a good deal of open area for tents and in some spots the trees are spread out a bit too much.

Great information. When we have numbers and dates, would you be willing to help me with getting the site reservations?

[UncleMJM]

I'm sold. Most practical would be a sunny day. The class is designed to be taught outdoors, and will make use of equipment at hand for some scenarios. This would be situations like using a sleeping pad as a splint and other creative alternative uses for gear. This last weekend the class was in a building, but we had the students park a mile away and "hike" in with packs to simulate the wilderness experience. Actual wilderness would be great.



Great information. When we have numbers and dates, would you be willing to help me with getting the site reservations?

Sorry for the slow reply here - for most of last week I was keeping up with HF through IPhone and somehow missed this.

I'd be glad to help with the site reservations on this end. Just let me know what you need.

[WarmSoda]

I'll be heading in to take a class and a test to get the certification to teach the class. I'll have more information about prices for materials and fees after I have done that. Preliminary estimates are in the low twenties total for them, though.

CPR is not covered in the class and is listed as a prerequisite for this class. I won't be bringing manikins into the piny woods, so you'll have to make arrangements in your local communities to take a CPR course. This is important for those of you who want the certification for BSA purposes.

[WarmSoda]

Here are the class requirements:

There must be at least six people over age 13 in attendance in order to have an effective class. The scenarios are designed with this number in mind, so there will be enough people to act as victims, while giving the rescuer(s) something realistic to respond to.

The class covers 16 hours of material and since this is a hang, we'll probably take some extra time for deeper discussions and more simulated scenarios. Attached are some documents that describe the class and the FAQ published by the American Red Cross. I also have the Boy Scouts of America Wilderness First Aid Curriculum and Doctrine Guidelines March 2010 Edition, but it exceeds the HF forums attachment size limit. If you need to see it, I guess I'll just email it to you.

If you want the certification (for BSA or other) you will need to be certified in "Adult CPR" before the class. Adult-CPR is usually a 4 hour class and offered by many organizations, not just the American Red Cross. To find some CPR classes in your local area, click here and enter your zip code to get a list of training locations.

I think the best way to have the classes is to have everyone bring their own materials. That will save me having to carry 10 pounds of books. You can order the books online for $15.95 from the American Red Cross here : 656232 - Wilderness and Remote First Aid Participant's Set, (EA) Rev. 12/09 There will also be an administrative processing fee, but that will vary based on the local chapter. Here in my chapter the fee is $4 per student, and I imagine that this is comparable across the red cross system.

Also bring your own first aid kit that contains at least the following:
non-latex disposable gloves
any medications that you might require

Also required is some sort of water disinfecting system (H2O filter, aquamira, steripen, etc.)

I hope that this extra information will help people become more interested. The more people with First Aid training in the back country the safer we will all be.

[WarmSoda]

I started a thread for the planning of the North Carolina hang.

[WarmSoda]

I'm pretty sure I could attend one in NC. Will keep watching for possible dates. If it turns out to be in the western part of the state, I may can lend a hand if need be.

Muttly

Muttly, any help would be appreciated. I can always use some extra "victims". Moowah ha ha!!

[WarmSoda]

I (shamelessly) volunteer Pisgah National Forest here in WNC.

Can you recommend a specific site in the forest? I think this will work for us.

[WarmSoda]

I took WFA with Red Cross here in H'ville last year. I'd love to take it again. There's no substitution for review and "Practice Practice Practice". In an emergency situation - one must KNOW what to do, not figure out what to do. Unfortunately the first thing people lose in these type situations is their minds.

I just wanted to note that the WFA classes went through a revision this year and I'll be teaching the new class. It will be an improvement over the old class, so if you liked that, you'll like this one even more. There's less "classroom" lectures and more hands on now.

I bet I could bet a group together this summer and we could do a hang/first responder class in the Mid-Atlantic. I'm sure we can accommodate you with travel expenses and places to hang. So if you are truly interested in a Mid-Atlantic class I will bring it up at the Spring Mahha hang in April and we could book something for this Summer of Fall. I will do all the legwork as far as rounding up a class, selecting a site and collecting the funds needed.

PM sent. I'd like to do this. The only issues for me is that the midatlantic is outside of my normal travel routes, so it won't be as easy for me to get there, since I'd have to make a special trip. Let's shoot for sometime in the fall before it snows.