October 4, 2010
We began the weeken
d (and expedition preparations) with a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) class. We were all excited to find out how to save some lives! After the introduction to the course, we knew we were going to have fun. Day one began with CPR class, where the "Actar" dummy acted as a choking victim, or a guy in cardiac arrest. We learned how to keep our chest compressions to the beat of either "Stayin Alive" by the Bee Gees, or ironically enough, "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen. In fact, with either song, the goal is for the patient to stay alive. We also performed some survival scenarios including assessing a man named Tim with an ankle injury he attained after tripping over a mountain goat on the trail (they're quite sneaky). Other scenarios included drenching students with a hose and treating them for hypothermia, or treating a patient who had a potential broken clavicle after a harsh fall during the "Leadville 100" bike race.
After learning how to fix a dislocated shoulder, and evacuate a patient with a compound fracture, we finished the course, all 42 of us officially certified in Wilderness First Aid.
In preparation for our upcoming expedition, all groups participated in rationing, packing, and trip overviews. Each expedition group took turns bagging flour, cheese, ramen, and other trip staples (and, of course, Snickers!) and packing essential gear. Then, everyone stuffed their packs full of food, warm clothes, supplies and the aforementioned group gear.
After finishing packing we weighed our packs; each pack is to be less than 45% of its owner's
weight. On prep days it's not uncommon to walk into any room or significantly-sized space and practically trip over various packs, belongings and possibly people.
While prep day felt pretty similar (though we were much more efficient!), new challenges and activities await us on the second expedition. Most importantly, we will spend the first four days at one campsite, our "basecamp", hiking out every day to do trail work. Most of the groups will be working on Mt. Elbert, Mt. Massive and Mt. Yale, three of the biggest mountains in Colorado. This service work will mostly include reinforcing trails and building check-steps and water bars to divert water off the trails.
The remaining 6 or so days of the trip will be spent backpacking in the wilderness around HMI. While these days will be much more similar to our first expedition, there are several
factors that will make this a very unique experience for us. Most significantly, the weather is likely to be a bit more rugged than on the first expedition. It is expected to wetter and colder, with even the potential for snow, and this should put our camping and layering skills to the test. Can't wait!
As one of our last community activities before we leave tomorrow, we auctioned off clothing, bags, laundry detergent and other various "lost" items relegated to the Vortex. We followed this up by eating some cake provided by the generous admissions office.
After a delicious dinner of lasagna, tonight we'll spend a few hours continuing to pack, cleaning our cabins for cabin inspection and preparing for a good night's sleep. We'll also spend some last minute time with friends we will not be seeing for a while, wishing each other a safe and enjoyable expedition.
With our packs packed, clothes for tomorrow set out and ready, and excitement running high this is "Adios from RMS XXV" and "Bon Voyage!" (at least until our next post-trip update!).
By: Nathan Schmidt, Glenys Hunt, & Keith Morency