During this inner-canyon workshop, participants learn how to diagnose and treat common medical problems that occur in the backcountry. After a late-afternoon orientation and pack check on the first day, participants will hike the following morning seven miles down theSouth Kaibab Trail to Bright Angel Campground. The class will consist of outdoor sessions on a variety of topics based from two inner canyon campgrounds.

Two nights will be spent at Bright Angel Campground and a single night at Indian Garden Campground. Invaluable field-management procedures will be covered, such as basic situation assessment, splinting, blister care, wound dressing, water purification, emergency mirror flashing, and practical treatment of bites, wounds, and fractures. The final day consists of a simulated ranger patrol while hiking out the Bright Angel Trail.

It may also include practical application of course matter if nonparticipant hikers are found in distress. Participants receive a complimentary copy of Tom Myers’s book, Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon. Upon completion of this class, participants will receive a Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) certification.