Becoming a 'woofer' (Wilderness First Responder)

Becoming a Wilderness First Responder

By Shireen Cave

I have led over 2 dozen wilderness destination trips and countless instructional lessons and have been fortunate to never have a serious medical emergency occur to a student or myself. As a guide most often I am required to have only a basic knowledge of First Aid and CPR which sadly often means watching a few hours of video and answering a dozen multiple choice questions. This December I had the opportunity to travel to Landmark Learning an affiliate of NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) and take part in a 9-day intensive Wilderness First Responder (WFR or pronounced 'woofer') course, which blew any of my previous training out of the water!
 

The main focus was on patient care management and how to prevent injuries and illnesses before they appeared. In the event that something should happen the course covered topics head to toe (literally) from issues on the outside: bumps and bruises to rashes and impairments to things internal such as broken bones, heart and lung issues, stomach pain, wounds, general illness and more. Coming from a rather naive medical background myself the instructors shared stories of events they had to remedy on the trail. I was amazed and shocked at the things that could happen in the outdoors and realized that so far my guiding experience had been fairly well bubble wrapped from injuries. Not that I am now an advocate of injury and mayhem I am thankful that so far the worst injury I have encountered is some severe sunburn and skinned knees.

The training involved a series of lectures indoors outlining common symptoms and treatments of each ailment as well as when and how to consider evacuating a patient. There were also many outdoor scenarios where we each played victim and rescuer and got a playful and very practical experience. The culmination of the training was an outdoor rescue situation where we worked in teams of 4. I (chosen by our instructor) was secretly set up to be the victim. Our scenario was that a group of us got lost in the woods after swimming at a waterfall and our map and compass got wet and became useless. We were trying to hike out of the woods when I ‘fell’ and compound fractured my shinbone. (Apparently I have a good career in acting because my teammates actually turned around to our instructor to alert them to my fall) With stage make-up blood and bone sticking out of my leg my teammates put my leg into traction, dressed my wound, and splinted my leg until further medical treatment might be found. A second teammate then had a seizure (which was also part of the training) and to the amazement of my last 2-team mates they now had 2 patients to deal with in the woods in the middle of the night. Imagine…. about 40 degrees, no moon, a flickering headlight, shirts and gear strewn about, a ‘gushing’ wound, a flailing man, and 4 people wondering what in the &*$ is going on… that about sums up the scene! All 4 of us managed the scenario and huddled together for over an hour while our instructors waited in the shadows watching and taking notes. In the end ‘help’ did arrive and we safely made it home.

The biggest impact this course taught us was that no matter how prepared you are with a 10lb medical kit and all the knowledge in the world strange and unique things happen in the wilderness. The best ‘medicine’ you can have is a calm mind and great improvisational skills. As a paddler, hiker, cyclist, skier, or a person who enjoys a walk in the woods injury can happen to anyone and at any time. Though I will never be 100% prepared for what can happen I will get you out of the woods! So next time you’re on a trip with me just know that out of the corner of my eye I’ll be searching for supplies I need in case of an emergency. 

Our group of 12 newly certified Wilderness First Responders

* For more information on NOLS please visit www.nols.edu

* For more information Landmark Learning please visit www.landmarklearning.edu

Shireen Cave has been an avid paddler for over 5 years. She is a certified sea kayaker and stand up paddle boarder who loves to venture into long open coastal water adventures. Initially starting she thought small lakes and ponds would be the biggest she’d ever get but she graduated up to sea kayaking in a year. Currently Shireen works at CanoeSport Outfitters where she is a kayak instructor and now certified WFR. Check out more about Shireen by visiting www.canoesportoutfitters.com. 

How to Demo a Kayak

By Shireen Cave

So you have decided to try out paddle sports and possibly purchase a kayak. Wonderful! Paddling is a great way to get on the water and explore our lakes and rivers! The best way to choose a kayak is to try them out or demo them. Just like you would try out a car before you buy it, you need to test a kayak’s bells and whistles to make sure it will fit your needs.

The first thing to try, before you even put the kayak in the water, is how the boat fits your body. When you sit in a kayak you should sit up straight, rest the balls of your feet on the foot braces, and slightly splay your knees out and under the thigh braces (if your boat has them) or rest against the combing. Your seat and foot braces should be adjustable, ask your local paddle shop or person to help you adjust them to your needs. The space between your hips and the side should feel comfortable roughly about the thickness of your palm. The cockpit combing should be not much high or lower then the top of your hipbone. This allows your body to flex around the boat and to develop good stroke technique. If a boat does not fit you comfortable it will feel to big and you body will feel sloppy as you paddle or if the boat is to small you will feel abnormally tippy and paddling will be harder for you to enjoy.

Now you can put your kayak in the water. While sitting in the kayak and staying close to shore test the boats stability. Use your hips to gently rock side to side and see how far and easy it is to balance your self. Some may prefer a very wide and stable boat while others maybe like the feel of something narrower.  Remember there are advantages and disadvantages to each!

Once you feel comfortable with your balance start paddling in a straight line. Pick a point on the horizon and try paddling straight towards it. How well does you boat track? A shorter boat is more likely to zig-zag towards your target while a longer boat is less likely. Also note how efficient you are. Does it really feel like you have to work with each stroke to move through the water or with every stroke does it seem like you glide across the surface. What do you prefer?

Now take the opportunity to turn your boat in circles. How easy is it for you to turn? Can you turn your boat in 5 strokes or 20? Now lift the opposite knee of the direction you will turn and edge your boat to one side. (Ex: lift left knee to drop the right edge into the water and turn right) The ability to hold an edge will help longer boats turn quicker than shorter boats. The ability to edge a boat will also help down the road as you learn more technical strokes and maneuvers. The length of your boat, for some, may be decided by the length of trips you want to take and the amount of gear you want to pack.

Check out the stern of your kayak. There are three options skeg, rudder, or nothing. Try deploying the skeg and rudder and paddle straight and in circles. A skeg deploys beneath the water and will create drag while turning but keep you going straighter in windy conditions. A rudder will help you turn but creates a larger surface for the wind to catch on windy days and since it deploys above the water there is risk of injury when re-entering your boat if you capsize. The longer the boat is the more likely it is to have a rudder or skeg. Short recreational kayaks don’t have this option. Ask your local paddle shop for more details and benefits of each option.

When you make it back to shore the last thing you need to try is to test the weight of the boat. Pick up the boat and try walking around with it on your shoulder. Remember that every time you want to paddle you must load and unload your kayak 4 times! That could be a total weight of 200+ lbs you lift each trip. Weight is also a big factor to performance in other areas of your paddling so even if 60lbs doesn’t seem bad it make affect your performance in your on-water skills.

There are many things to consider when demoing a kayak for the first time. If this is your first time trying out kayaks and you still aren’t sure what kayak will work best check with your local paddle shop and try out some classes. Spending time and learning in a boat you chose will make your buying decision a lot more firm and you’ll be more comfortable with your new purchase!

Shireen Cave has been an avid paddler for over 5 years. She is a certified sea kayaker and stand up paddle boarder who loves to venture into long open coastal water adventures. Initially starting she thought small lakes and ponds would be the biggest she’d ever get but she graduated up to sea kayaking in a year. Currently Shireen works at CanoeSport Outfitters where she is a kayak instructor. Check out more about Shireen and different kayaks by visiting www.canoesportoutfitters.com.