The USCG recommended passenger load may have been exceeded for this group shot! All 20 students atop the raft, on day two after a really fun day of swiftwater training. The Trinity River was flowing around 1100 CFS and made Hawkins Bar an ideal training site. Some fun features, and good challenging cross-river swims!
We had yet another great week of Wilderness First Aid and Swiftwater Rescue training up on the Trinity River with the TCCC of the Hoopa Tribe. We at Sierra Rescue have been doing a combination Wilderness First Aid / Survival and Swiftwater Rescue Course up in Hoopa for over 10 years now. Day one was all first-aid focused and the wounds lab and splinting lab were highlights as usual. Fun to see the students improvising in the wilderness setting. We spent the evening of the first day building survival shelters and running hands on wilderness first aid scenarios. It was great to watch the students thinking through the variety of problems we threw at them.
Wilderness First Aid Arts and Crafts: splint building. Building a splint in the wilderness environment takes a little practice. Remember to make your splint, functional, and comfortable.
Some much needed springtime rain fell on our second day and boosted the river flows on the Trinity, contributing to 3 great days of swiftwater rescue training. It took a little encouragement to get everyone in the water, but all rose to the occasion and demonstrated some great rescue skills. This was a high energy group who learned a lot and had fun doing it. Highlights were running the rapid at Hawkins Bar and shallow water crossing the entire Trinity River using the 10 person wedge technique.
Student prepares a stabilization line for entrapped victim. Willow Creek provided an excellent training site for entrapments
It was great to get back up to the Trinity River and spend some time training with the Hoopa TCCC. They have a great program going up there and we at Sierra Rescue are happy to continue working with the members of the Hoopa Tribe and TCCC. I’m bound for Arizona next to teach a Wilderness Advanced First Aid class in Peach Springs, Arizona. –ZB 2.29.14