Be Your Own First Responder!

This workshop is all about building the confidence and skills to handle common outdoor medical situations—because adventure doesn’t always come with a cell signal.

We’ll cover the essentials of trail first aid and backcountry safety, with a focus on practical knowledge you can use right away. Topics include:

• Injuries on the Move: Blisters, sprains, cuts, and scrapes
• Nature’s Hazards: Poison oak, ivy, and other irritating plants
• Creepy Crawlies & Critters: Mosquitos, ticks, bees, wasps, spiders, scorpions, and even the occasional rat
• Bigger Wildlife Concerns: How to handle encounters with snakes, bears, coyotes, and bobcats
• Food Fumbles: When food goes down the wrong pipe—or comes back up
• Environmental Stressors: Recognizing and managing heat exhaustion and altitude illness
• First Aid Kits: What to pack, what to skip, and how to customize your kit
• Getting Help When It Matters: Using tools like InReach, sat-phones, runners, and emergency apps
• Training Resources: Learn about options like First Aid, Wilderness First Aid (WFA), Wilderness Medicine Associates (WMA), and NOLS certifications

Whether you're hiking for a day or backpacking off-grid, this session will help you feel more prepared, stay safer, and know what to do when things don’t go according to plan.

Bonus: Attendees get a special in-store discount and the chance to win a giveaway packed with outdoor first-aid essentials!