Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man:A Field Guide to Leadership in the Great Outdoors Chapter 24

This is the twenty-fourth of a weekly blog series that will focus on leadership in the outdoors and how to get the most from the least. Even though the title is called, “Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man”, it will hopefully cover topics that are useful to everyone.

Chapter 24: Be a powerful medicine man.

“The greatest medicine of all is teaching people how not to need it.” - Hippocrates

In the mountain man’s time of yesteryear, being able to take care of yourself and others in your company from a medical perspective was paramount. The trapping and trading expeditions that occurred in the Rocky Mountains carried on for sometimes years-long time periods. Some of the men and women during the golden age of the mountain man stayed in the mountains for the entire era. The native people that lived in the Rocky Mountains certainly never came or went during any time period or era, as it was their home and they knew no different. For the mountain men of this time period, the closest proper doctor or even a crude medical facility was at the closest several weeks to month-long travel time away from the mountains. This would compel each and every man to learn the art and skill of being a medicine man of sorts. Injuries, cuts, scrapes, and sickness were regular and daily occurrences as part of their profession and livelihood. These were rough men, doing rough work. Most of the men that went into the mountains during this time period adapted very quickly to the way the native people lived. This included clothing, travel, shelters, tools, and food, but possibly the most important thing from a health and longevity standpoint was learning and using the wild resources of flora and fauna for medicinal purposes. It is truly astonishing the amount of knowledge that the native people possessed and utilized every day from a medical perspective. This knowledge was so important, in fact, that anyone who could learn and use this information successfully was said to hold strong, powerful or big medicine. Being able to employ this experience and knowledge surely extended more than one man’s adventure in the Rockies.

It is truly amazing the amount and quality of healing properties found in all-natural flora and fauna that God gifted to mankind as part of His creation. We must acquire medical knowledge and good experiences to help make ourselves better and more resourceful outdoor leaders. This is in no way limited to just knowing natural herbs and cure-alls but would include much of what we now consider modern-day medicine and first aid. The more medical knowledge and tools a modern-day mountain man has in his or her mental toolbox, the more likely that leader will be to know what skill, tool or resource to use when conditions are less-than-ideal for a member of his or her group. Never knowing when and where this knowledge will be called upon and used is a great part of the adventure of being an outdoor leader.

For the most part, I am not in favor of completing the training for certifications of any sort just to check a box to fulfill an arbitrary requirement for an insurance company or accrediting organization, especially online training with scripted videos and presentations. One of the most important areas where high standards for training and certification should always apply is with medical knowledge or water lifeguarding and lifesaving skills. This training and certification process must involve high-quality in-person instruction with opportunities to get real-world practice and experience. Medical emergencies are unpredictable and can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere, with no rhyme or reason to it. The option to call for help is not always possible, especially concerning remote programs or facilities that exist in an area where travel and logistics can quickly become impossible. This medical training and experience should be conducted in such a way that it will benefit the staff and facility the most. Cookie-cutter or one-size-fits-all training has become the norm and standard where most things training are concerned. The idea that something meaningful can come from sitting in front of a computer screen for an hour or two, then completing a series of questions to show “competency” sets a dangerous precedent, and is something that should be avoided at all costs. This especially rings true for any and every form of medical training. Just like the mountain man of yesteryear, the best way to learn is to do. I often reference experience as being essential to success in my chapters, but one thing I want to be very clear about is that it is good experiences that are necessary. It is possible to do more harm than good by giving or allowing bad experience as part of a program. The famed experiential educator and leader Paul Petzoldt referred to these negative experiences as attending “Camp Hoochie-Coochie.” Throughout his years leading groups in the great outdoors, Mr. Petzoldt would reference “Camp Hoochie-Coochie” any time a student would preface something they were going to do by saying they had experience but then proceeding to do something incorrectly. That is certainly one of the dangers of shifting training and certifications to an online format, the realism is lost and it can very quickly become a negative “Camp Hoochie-Coochie” experience.

I believe the best training organizations make the focus of their medical training hands-on exercises and create realistic scenarios that their students might encounter in their professional capacity. Human beings are by nature very fragile and will need repair from time-to-time to keep functioning. Having a good grasp of medical knowledge can also help the modern-day mountain with risk assessment and mitigation in a program. Knowing what can go wrong, will help you minimize the risk of the wrong happening. The only way the modern-day mountain man can get to a place of competency is through good experiences and training. Like most outdoor skills, medical skills are perishable and should be maintained and polished as often as possible. Sickness and injuries in the outdoor profession are inevitable and dealing with them as quickly and completely as possible makes the program function much smoother. This medical knowledge is powerful and big medicine.

In a previous chapter, I referenced the 7 + 1 priorities to know and practice to thrive when outdoors. Number one on this list will always be P.M.A, Positive Mental Attitude. If you believe you can, you will achieve it. A close second on this list of 7 + 1, is medical/first aid knowledge. Knowing how to deal with any medical issues with yourself or in a group will go a long way to giving needed confidence and self-reliance and making a person a competent and reliable outdoor leader. Being a leader in the great outdoors is a serious business and the work that goes into preparing a leader for the outdoors should start with the training and knowledge to keep the people in your care healthy. This should be approached as a way of caring for a group with no outside assistance in all but the most dire and serious medical emergencies. Every group or program in the backcountry should be viewed and designed as a self-contained entity, with no reliance on outside help or logistics. In my experience, in more than one instance, additional medical help was not able to come to help. If a leader is not prepared to deal with most medical issues and illnesses in the backcountry, then they are not prepared to lead groups in the outdoors. We must be very self-critical and identify areas of needed growth in regards to medical knowledge, we must know what we don’t know, so we can continue on our life-long mission of learning. This is the same now as it was in the mountain men of yesteryear’s time period, self-reliance and knowledge being critical to success, both personally and professionally. Stand ready to be responsible for yourself and your group from a medical perspective and the other skills will fall into place accordingly.

Over the years of working at camps and education and conference centers, I have splinted more broken bones, cleaned and bandaged more cuts, and wrapped more ankles and wrists than I can remember. I have also attended to more cases of altitude-related sickness than I would have previously thought possible. This is in no way special to my case, if you work in the outdoor profession long enough, you will deal with these same issues and instances. Knowing that I can help others feel better or comfort them in times of injury helps me to be confident that I can guide and operate programs in all terrains and weather conditions. Having as many tools in my mental toolbox as possible for a given set of circumstances helps me to know what skill to use when it is needed and also helps to even prevent occurrences of sickness or injury having seen a similar scenario in a different time and place. The trainings that I have attended that are immersive and place the student in a simulated scenario that will be more-than-likely encountered down the road is what I find most helpful to build the foundation for great patient care in the real world. All of the other pieces of program skills and offerings are more solid by having a foundation of caring for people's physical needs.

A Natural Medicine Gifted to Mankind by God.

In our risk-averse society it is very important that we don’t make the programs so simple and protected that there are no chances or opportunities to learn from failure. Within reason, this opportunity for failure should include some risk to life and limb, without that type of risk adventure programs will suffer and die. We cannot allow the dosage of the cure (too much risk prevention) to destroy the program. Knowing this, we must be prepared for when those injuries and illnesses do occur, as they will definitely occur. I am a firm believer that every staff member, no matter the role on the property or in the program, possess at least some basic first aid and CPR knowledge. In many cases of the medical issues I have experienced, not having the ability to deal with even the most minor injuries or illnesses would have brought an otherwise functioning program to a screeching halt. It is not possible to know when and where medical knowledge will be needed, which is why we call them an unexpected emergency. All staff must be prepared to help, as the very nature and location of camp and outdoor program work should make it compulsory for all staff to be ready to help as medical needs arise. In other instances, I have encountered where there was a need for immediate medical care, and help from the outside was rendered impossible due to lack of resources or travel conditions and logistical hurdles that could not be overcome. The care was limited to what could be done on-site by the staff and equipment at that very location.

In conclusion, if the camp program or company that you are employed with requires training or certifications of any sort, make sure that the training is useful and beneficial to all parties involved. It may not be in your scope of power or responsibility to choose the vendor or trainers, but if the need is not met, be sure to go above and beyond and seek the training and knowledge for your benefit and for the benefit of all you will encounter. Training should never be viewed simply as a box that needs to be checked for some arbitrary insurance company or accrediting agency, but should be viewed as another stepping stone to becoming a great leader in the outdoors. In addition to our professional roles, as Christians we should seek to help all that need help, in some cases this help may start with providing medical assistance. Medical training and knowledge should always be at the top of the list for any outdoor program or company worth its salt. If we cannot care for others, we are not fit or qualified to lead others. We should seek to become great and powerful medicine men to be of the highest quality and benefit to our fellow mountain men.