SOLO Southeast — Local services in North Carolina

It’s after midnight, and we just finished a 5 hr nighttime search and rescue scenario during which we had to hike several miles into the woods carrying all of our gear, find/assess/treat the standardized patients, build a temporary shelter, then evacuate the same way we hiked in, this time carrying our critical patient whom we had packaged in an evac basket, plus all of our original gear. This was the capstone to our week of wilderness survival and wilderness medicine, during which we have learned primitive fire building 7 different ways; primitive and improvised shelter building; botany, including medicinal, edible, useful, and toxic plants; knife skills, knot tying, and primitive rope making; primitive water sourcing and purification; backcountry patient assessment and triage; backcountry field treatments and indications for evacuation; how to make improvised splints/cervical collars, pelvic binders, traction splints, and patient transport devices; how to package and transport patients in austere environments; how to attend to patient’s needs for shelter, wound care, and other long term considerations; about heat, cold, and altitude related exposure injuries/illnesses; about animal bites and stings; and so many other things that I’m probably forgetting to mention. We are exhausted and sososo gross... but honestly, this is exactly what we were hoping for when we came here. We know so much more and can do so much more than we could this time last week. My husband and I are both physicians, who took these courses due to our love of the wilderness and our desire to be more self-sufficient and proficient in wilderness or other improvised settings. We are proud of and confident in what we’ve learned this week, and of the multitude of ways we will potentially use it. And for us, the best part by far was that it was all taught without a single PowerPoint—instead, our phenomenally engaging, dedicated, and skilled instructors taught us all of this material in 7 days through a combination of discussion and real life practice, including everything from trial and error in the classroom with the material off our backs, to complex multi-patient scenarios planted in a backcountry setting. As much as I hoped that this week would be immersive and experiential, it has exceeded my expectations. We’ve also had so much fun with some great people who I would love to work with again in the future if given the chance. If anyone is looking for a challenge and an adventure that will let you take something tangible away at the end, I highly recommend a trip to Bryson City to hang out with the folks...

Read some forum discussions on WFR classes and you'll likely come across a phrase or two to the effect of "The instructor makes (or breaks) the class"... Having just completed the 9 day course at SOLO Southeast, and having no frame of reference or previous experience to draw from, I can assure you that The Randy Experience is one unto itself. Other, perhaps cliched, phrases come to mind, like "He loves what he does". You'll find that these are truisms in Randy's class. Nine days in a classroom probably doesn't sound like much fun, but come here and don't blink, because the time's about to fly by. Not only are there numerous times each day you'll be outside learning and applying practical techniques, you'll also have ample and evenly spaced breaks from classroom learning.. Classroom learning in this case being engaging, processible, and yes, entertaining "lectures" presented by Randy. The atmosphere is casual, and questions from individuals in the class are welcomed and encouraged throughout the dissemination of information. Speaking of atmosphere and individuals, the setting lends itself to a lot of cool people, with cool experiences and stories to share, going on to do cool things. You're likely to come away with some new ideas about places to go, things to see, or hobbies to have. Again, I can't compare or contrast other WFR programs to this one.. I'm just lucky to have happened upon much more...

We took a Wilderness First Aid class with Barrett at AMS in Celo. My husband and I have both taken a lot of courses and Barrett is one of the best instructors we have ever encountered. He’s extremely knowledgeable and organized. He managed to keep a group that ranged in ages from 20’s to 70’s completely engaged for two days. During our two day course, we got a lot of hands-on experience which we all greatly appreciated. Thank you, Barrett. Job...