In the wilderness, awake and at home

I don't mean to jinx it. I really don't. But winter seems to be loosening its grip and camping season is nigh. Overnight lows are consistent, the sun exists (yes, there was doubt) and I biked yesterday sans jacket (a la the tiny example to the left). So with camping just around the bend, it's always a good idea to brush up on advanced first aid skills — especially when your campsite or bike route is a solid 30 minutes from emergency medical services.

Warning: Obligatory anecdote. Call me nerdy. I'm that weird Eagle Scout kid you knew in high school. I memorized knots, hung food from trees and learned how to go number two in the woods (yes, there is a right way and a wrong way). More importantly: I learned all kinds of backcountry first aid skills. And the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago is about to offer a program so you can learn these skills, too.

The class is called Wilderness First Aid. The course combines classroom lecture, skills practice and role-playing to teach the response steps and treatment of injuries and illness in delayed-response situations. The course focuses on:

• Primary and secondary assessments

• Head (brain), neck and back injuries

• Heat-related emergencies and hypothermia

• Altitude-related illnesses, allergies and anaphylaxis

• Bone and joint injuries

• Burns

• Wounds and wound infection

... but that's just the start of it. In short, the class is a very in-depth look at several outdoorsy first aid situations. Bee sting in the woods? Broken bone in the backcountry? Severe burn at the campsite? There's a class for that.

Want to enroll? I thought so. Starting Monday, classes will be scheduled and enrollment will be open for Wilderness First Aid classes in the Chicago area. So if you're a nerdy ex-scout, a connoisseur of the outdoors or just enjoy the occasional jaunt through the forest preserve, taking this class will help you save a life in cases of delayed emergency response.

Happy Friday! Now, Allen Ginsberg, if you'll kindly take us into the weekend.

And maybe make an image

of my wandering, a little

image — shrine by the

roadside to signify

to traveler that I live

here in the wilderness

awake and at home.