One of the great things about the Idaho Trails Association is the dedication they have to the safety of their volunteers. Part of that safety protocol is to train all their crew leaders in Wilderness First Aid. It is a 2 day class with a 2 year WFA certification and I needed to renew mine.
The class is being held in my friend Tom’s shop in Northern Idaho so I worked out a deal with Anne to catch a ride. The 6 hour trip to Tom’s shop takes you through some of the most beautiful country Idaho has to offer.
Anne, besides being my Uber driver, is also the instructor of the class. It was great to see my friends from the northern part of the State.
Leslie administers CPR to this unfortunate fellow who apparently lost his lower body and arms in unfortunate wilderness accident, Debby prepares the automatic defibrillator.
Ken suffers a femur fracture and gets the burrito treatment.
Howard appears to be having trouble with his arm. How are we going to hike him out????
Debby, one of the class participants demonstrates how to convert your pack into a sling….. hummm that seems easier to me than the triangle bandage Brian! Extra bonus, the injured hiker can also carry some of their own gear!
No visit to Tom’s man cave is complete without a visit to his climbing and adventure museum.
Tom is the OG when it comes to Northwest Climbing. His stories are fascinating. A big thanks to Tom for hosting our class.
During a class break, Anne kicks the tires of Tom’s all terrain vehicle and makes everybody sign a document that her husband never finds out about this vehicle which Tom is contemplating selling.
Finally, all of us at the class and at the ITA want to thank Brian’s friend George who is the benefactor of this class. Talk about someone who is making a difference! George started supporting this program two years ago and we have now trained about 40 crew leaders. Over the last 2 years we heard multiple stories from our crew leaders where this training has benefited people in both wilderness and non wilderness emergiencies! THANK YOU GEORGE!!
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