How to run an emergency from first response to handover when no ambulance is coming and evacuation can take hours or days. Real lesson below, the full 10-module course inside THE CAMPFIRE.
In short: Wilderness first response is medicine practiced when you are the immediate care provider and help is far away. It runs on a repeatable order of operations: secure the scene, run a systematic ABCDE assessment to catch the threats that kill in minutes, treat, and make the stay-or-go call. This guide covers the ABCDE patient assessment free; the full 10-module Wilderness First Responder course lives inside CWS.
When chaos strikes, a plan is your best friend, and in the backcountry you do not have time for guesswork. The ABCDE assessment is a systematic way to evaluate a patient so you never miss anything critical and you handle life threats in the order they kill. Run every patient through these letters, and reassess as you go, because conditions change and interventions need checking. And remember: before any of this, scene safety comes first, every time.
Look for obstructions like blood, vomit, or objects and for facial trauma. Listen for gurgling, snoring, or stridor, and feel for air movement. Use a head-tilt/chin-lift for medical patients, or a jaw thrust for trauma patients with a suspected spinal injury. If trauma occurred, have a team member hold the head and neck neutral and in-line until evacuation.
Look at the chest for symmetrical rise and fall and check skin color. Count the rate (normal adult is 12 to 20), check rhythm and quality, and watch for accessory muscle use. Be ready to assist breaths with a barrier device, and cover any sucking chest wound with an occlusive dressing immediately.
Check a radial pulse on conscious adults, carotid if absent. Note rate (normal 60 to 100), rhythm, and quality, and check skin color, temperature, and capillary refill (under 2 seconds, less reliable in cold). Then control any major bleeding aggressively, because uncontrolled bleeding is one of the fastest killers in trauma.
Assess neurological status and mental state. Any change here is a red flag worth tracking closely.
Expose to find hidden injuries, but protect the patient from the elements. In the wilderness, the environment can hurt your patient as fast as the injury, so cover them back up and manage temperature.
The order is not arbitrary. If a patient cannot breathe, nothing else matters, so airway is paramount. Work the letters in sequence, treat what you find before moving on, and run them again whenever something shifts.
The full course covers stopping the bleed, wound care, sprains and fractures, heat and cold hazards, bites and toxins, burns and airway, medical emergencies, and evacuation.
Get the full course free in THE CAMPFIRETen modules that take you from the responder mindset to a full incident run from first response through prolonged care and evacuation.
A systematic way to evaluate a patient so you handle life threats first: A for Airway and cervical spine, B for Breathing, C for Circulation and hemorrhage, D for Disability, and E for Exposure and environment. Run the letters in order and reassess after any change or intervention.
Scene safety comes first, every time. Survey the scene from a safe distance and protect yourself, your partners, and bystanders. You cannot help anyone if you become a casualty yourself.
Lead with firm direct pressure using clean gauze for 5 to 10 minutes without peeking. For severe pulsating limb bleeding, apply a tourniquet 2 to 3 inches above the wound, high and tight, and note the time. For armpit, groin, or neck wounds, pack gauze tightly to the source and hold pressure.
Yes. Assume a cervical spine injury after any significant trauma, especially falls over about three feet, high-speed impacts, or shallow-water dives. Apply manual in-line stabilization, holding the head and neck neutral and in-line, and minimize movement until evacuation.
Go now for any life-threatening condition, inability to walk, a deteriorating status, or diagnostic uncertainty. Stay and provide care only when the patient is stable, evacuation poses greater risk, you have adequate resources, and professional help is en route with a clear timeline.
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