First Aid

Gotta say, I'm am pretty happy that the OEC (outdoor emergency care) or OFA (occupational first aid)  is finished. It was a 110 hour course over a period of two weeks. It would be lying if I said it was an easy course. We usually spent the mornings in class learning about anatomy and different types of injuries.

Death by power point 

 In the afternoon we were shown how to deal with amputated limbs, open fractures, arterial bleeding, spinal injuries, myocardial infarctions, and so on.

This guy was pretty awesome!

Jock with a spinal injury

Canoeing 101

The next thing to check off after rock climbing was canoeing. We spent the week at a local lake learning flat water skills to get us prepared for our instructor certificate and for whitewater canoeing. Each morning at the lake looked like a movie set. Golden sun peaking through a thick layer of fog was breathtaking.

Once we wrapped up our learnings on the lake we went for a day paddle down the Elk river. We hit a few swifts and class 1's and for most of us who have not canoed in moving water before, it was a great chance to practice those eddy turns and peal outs. We even had the chance to surf the canoes in a standing wave. Can't wait for the next high-water season.