As I’ve mentioned, I’m still a new hiker. I started just a few years ago with no childhood experience and am learning a lot every time. Sometimes it’s simple like “bring more snacks!” and sometimes it’s bigger.
Last week we went to Horseshoe Bend. It wasn’t geat for my anxiety-no rails and sheer cliffs with massive drops down to the river freak me out. My husband is a good sport and helped the kids experience the views while I focused on breathing. The “what ifs” flood my brain in situations like that.
A couple weeks ago, I was the only adult at our neighborhood park when a kindergartner fell off his scooter and sliced a big chunk off his chin. Blood was everywhere, he was panicking, and the other kids were in shock at the sight. Thankfully after some pediatric plastic surgery, he was fine, but I’ve been thinking about that since. What if a similar accident happened while the kids and I were hiking? We could trip over rocks or felled trees so easily. I don’t habitually hike with any first aid kid, though we have two in our car, and my first aid training is super out of date.
The anxious part of my brain tries to convince me that staying inside, avoiding adventures and risk, will keep us all safe. Logically, I know that’s not entirely true and that if I listened to my anxiety, it would be at a big risk to the rest of our brains.
That said, I’m more determined to keep my first aid kit on me while we are hiking, and to take a refresher first aid class and/or get a wilderness specific first aid book. Hopefully with some planning, we avoid anything catastrophic. If you have any course recommendations, let me know. REI offers some (pricey) classes sponsored by NOLS, the Red Cross also has some, as does Wilderness Medicine of Utah,and I’ve seen some books that may be interesting. If I find more info, I’ll update this post.