Did you miss me? No, I haven’t been forgetting to post. For the last nine days I’ve had the incredible experience of completing SOLO Southeast’s Wilderness First Responder Training at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in Bryson City, North Carolina. The training consisted of both lectures and scenarios deigned to teach us what to do if we are more than an hour from a hospital. Our instructor, Stephan, mixed the right amount and stories to get us through each day, while ensuring that we were prepared for our tests and what we may truly encounter once we left. It felt so good to get back in a classroom and learn something. It was even better to know that what I was learning hopefully help me or someone else in need.
During the time, it was fascinating to get to know my 15 fellow classmates, what brought them to the class, and where they are going afterwards. Some are whitewater raft guides, two are in separate outdoor-related ministries, one was through-hiking the entire Appalachian Trail that runs through NOC, one was starting a camp for troubled teen, one was about to drive out to Yosemite National Park to start leading guided trips through the park, and one was in the middle interviewing for an outdoors job in either Utah or North Carolina. Spending nine days together being one another’s caregiver and victim for countless scenarios and a few evenings together, we really got to know each other and bond. Because of this we excelled in our nighttime search and rescue scenario of a bear attack at a camp up the hill. All 15 of us passed our tests and are now certified Wilderness First Responders (WFRs) or “woofers”.
On top of all that the training took place in an area I love going to visit –The Smokies. True to its name, some mornings on my drive to NOC I would pass through layers of fog, while around the next bend, the shine would be shining brightly. At this time of year, everything is started to bloom, covering the bareness that winter had left behind in wonderful shades of green. At NOC and along my drive, the Nantahala River, provided the perfect background noise and completed the picture of relaxation and happiness. I am so thankful that we were able to go rafting on the river for two of our scenarios. Although it is not a challenging river to paddle, just being out on it filled something in me that had been missing.
Here is a gallery of photos from the class and the area.
Back to School (1986) Comedy, starring Rodney Dangerfield – To help his discouraged son get through college, a funloving and obnoxious rich businessman decides to enter the school as a student himself.