Wednesday, June 17 – Day 4, Part 2 Training

Real Northwestern Weather

The day was full of training, once again. No surprise there! Today's main focus was the AERIE Wilderness First Aid training that filled our minds from 8:00AM through 5:00PM. David, our instructor from AERIE is great! The content is not anything particularly new to me, but it's always interesting to re-take and re-learn useful information, especially when it's skills for the back country. AERIE's format is definitely a bit different from the WMI style, but it's the same content and it's the same basics, especially in the case of First Aid. It always boils down to the ABC's. Airway, Breathing, and Circulation. I spoke with the instructor and fortunately, he's going to tack on some extra skills so I can refresh my Wilderness First Responder certification. Likewise, for tonight's basic CPR class, he'll be adding on some extra items so I can renew my CPR for Professional Rescuers status. Wee! It'll be nice to have my CPR and WFR last just that much longer (6 months, 1 month, respectively)

I keep seeing the peak of Mt. Rainier when the clouds take their daily coffee-break. It's a lovely surprise to walk out during one of our breaks and to see the beautiful mountain towering over the park. Speaking of awesome items in the area, I'd love to be able to visit Seattle before I head home from the training. I'm not sure I'll be able to make it happen, but I'll cross my fingers and hope that on Saturday, on my way back to the airport, there's enough time for a nice detour, just long enough to check out Pike's Place Market.

I also got to experience the unique misting, found only here in the extreme Northeast of the United States. Like small needles falling from the sky, little pin pricks touch your skin, but no moisture can be felt when you sweep your hand across your skin.

New certifications:
AERIE Wilderness First Responder
CPR for the Professional Rescuer