Since we are aiming to do some camping and hiking this spring and summer, I have been doing some research. It’s been a very long time since I’ve done any extensive camping, beyond some car and tent camping at commercial sites and a couple of overnighters with Tim, the cub scout.
In fact my last "Latest Read" was a re-read of "the Hiking Bible" Tom Faranda’s Folly: Latest Read: The Complete Walker IV and this small booklet was one of the many recommended readings in The Complete Walker.
Backcountry First Aid turned out to be an excellent choice for a small manual or compendium about first aid treatments when you are in the outdoors. It is four inches by five and a half, and 120 pages long, so it will fit in a first aid kit or bag. The back cover has an "Action Index" that refers you to the pages for 47 different conditions or accidents. Topics like Bites and Stings, hypothermia, shock, water disinfection, etc, etc. The topics are covered very well – succinct and as comprehensive as you could hope for in a portable manual.
Of course it pays to read the manual before heading out, and in fact is valuable for anyone who wants to be ready for an accident or sudden sickness, whether in the wilderness, driving to work, or in your backyard.
So, highly recommended by moi. In the next couple of months I am also going to read a full-sized book on first aid recommended in The Complete Walker, entitled Wilderness Medicine, Beyond First Aid.
Here’s an interesting coincidence. Both first aid books are published by The Globe Pequot Press, and Tom McCarthy, a good friend of mine and ex-rugby player, is an editor at Globe. Tom still has Che Guevara posters up in his bedroom and walks around going "Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh", so it’s a bit surprising he works for a publisher who puts out things as mundane as first aid books.
I guess you still have to eat, while waiting for the Revolution.
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