Wilderness First Responder: Best Guide To The WFR

Scott Ingram
WRITTEN BY
Scott Ingram

Wilderness First Responder (WFR) Certification

A Wilderness First Responder (WFR) is certified through a specialized, wilderness first responder certification course provided by organizations like the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

Patch design for Wilderness First Responder, featuring a circular emblem with a white medical cross in the center against a green background, flanked by mountain peaks, pine trees, and a brown border with the text 'Wilderness First Responder' in white.

The Wilderness First Responder certification course combines classroom learning with practical exercises in remote outdoor areas.

Outdoor enthusiasts and outdoor professionals take WFR courses and case studies that simulate real life scenarios on disaster relief and disaster situations.

Learn more about Rustic Pathways safety

Wilderness First Responder Skills Needed

Volunteers need medical training, outdoor survival skills and critical thinking. First Responders operate in austere environments and need to be able to scale steep slopes and rappel into deep caverns.

They undergo training on how to pull people from swift waters and avalanches. And they know what to do when a bear or another animal attacks.

Discover the real-life application of these skills in our article about a SAR doctor’s life-saving missions.

Teens camping in a remote camp in Alaska on the Alaska: Off the Map program

Wilderness First Responder Course In Person Training

Wilderness First Responder in person training is a 10-to-11-day course to prepare individuals provide care in remote places. It’s a step up from basic First Aid certification, but the training is not as extensive as search and rescue, fire departments, or other emergency personnel.

Hybrid wilderness first responder WFR courses offer WFR training in a hybrid format, where WFR with current certifications can recertify over a high-speed internet connection.

Proctor says during his Wilderness First Responder training, medical experts taught program leaders like him how to carry people to safety.

“There were a bunch of stories that my instructor was able to use since he was a doctor in a remote region of Baja, Mexico. For a lot of motorcycle accidents and problems like that in the desert, you’re not always going to be able to get a helicopter, vans, trucks, or anything like that to the scene,” Proctor said.

Proctor says most of the students training in his group were activity leaders working in an outdoor setting, like camp counselors, backcountry trip leaders, ski patrollers, whitewater rafting guides, river guides, hiking guides, and ski patrol members.

They get hands on practice with basic first aid skills like splinting and providing medication. Proctor says they also learn how to monitor symptoms and note them, so that information can be passed along to emergency medical technicians. This includes:

  • What is their heart rate?
  • What is their relative blood pressure?
  • Are they breathing normally?
  • Is their skin pale, dry or wet?
  • Are their eyes dilated?
  • Are they able to answer questions?
  • Are they completely aware or partially aware?

An infographic titled 'WFR Symptom Checklist' for wilderness first responders, featuring a list of assessments with corresponding icons. Categories include Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, Breathing, Skin Condition, Eye Condition, Cognitive Ability, and Awareness Level, with spaces to record heart rate and blood pressure, and checkboxes for yes/no responses regarding breathing, skin condition, eye dilation, cognitive ability, and awareness level.

Learn how these skills are crucial in SAR operations by reading about how SAR teams handle emergencies

Proctor says this knowledge is gathered to give the best possible chance of a positive outcome.

“It provides me with the background to be able to be confident in those situations and take a lead. It’s good to know that I’m following established procedures and guidelines,” Proctor adds.

Proctor says he was trained to do these kinds of steps when he attended his certification class. They also say students were given ideas on advanced techniques and practical skills on how to make sleds to carry people.

Wilderness First Responder Equipment

Wilderness first responder equipment includes first aid supplies and medicine.

“Different medications first responders carry can help with things like altitude sickness or cerebral edema that you might encounter in high elevation situations,” Proctor said. “I need to decide which medicines are appropriate for which situation.”

One key factor for wilderness first responders is how far they are from medical care.

“What I can do is limited by my certification. I can only administer certain types of care if I’m more than two hours from medical help,” Proctor said.

Basic first aid kit lying on the floor, opened with a tri-fold.

Wilderness First Responder Care

For Proctor, the medical steps he takes giving wilderness first responder care may be more limited. He might offer pain medicine or wrap an injury. However, in difficult cases, his main goal is to get a person to a medical expert who can provide more in-depth care.

“A huge part of being a wilderness first responder is actually facilitating evacuation rather than just providing care,” Proctor said.

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Wilderness First Responders In Action

Proctor’s skills as a wilderness first responder became important when he was traveling with a friend who was showing signs of heat exhaustion, which is another common problem.

They were hiking in Utah when Proctor saw troubling behavior. “He was just starting to fade. I could see it in his eyes. I could see it in his body demeanor. He just wasn’t like he normally was. He was going downhill rapidly, and he started to say, ‘I just need to close my eyes,’” Proctor said.

Proctor said he started looking for the signs he was trained to look for. His friend was highly flushed, had a dry tongue, and fading energy. He said when he felt his friend’s skin it was burning up.

So Proctor took action. He wrapped his friend in wet towels, helped him get in a cool pool, and made him drink water. Then with both hands on the support of a third party, Proctor carried his heat-exhausted friend to their accommodations a mile and a half away.

There his friend was able to make a full recovery, so Proctor’s medical training had prevented a common scenario from escalating.

Proctor took that idea to heart taking courses to be a first responder. “We’re basically there to be a person to lean on,” Proctor said. “We are the pillar in the earth that is unmovable since we’ll be there when we’re needed.”

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What is Medical Evacuation Insurance and How is it Covered?

Medical evacuation is necessary when a patient needs emergency transportation for a serious illness or injury. Many travel insurance plans give you financial coverage if you need this service for medical emergencies. You should check for it when you sign up for a plan.

Evacuation is considered necessary if you have a severe or life-threatening medical problems and adequate treatment is not available in your immediate area. Without insurance, medical transportation back to the United States costs anywhere from $15,000 to more than $200,000.

The price tag depends on how far you are from home and the transportation available. Even with that high cost, it’s something travelers should have, particularly as cell phones offer unreliable communication in certain outdoor scenarios.

Also, some of the spot location detectors, like the one Proctor carries, offer insurance. Those insurance plans pay for helicopter evacuation if you hit a button that says you need it.

A red helicopter with a first aid symbol painted on the door flying in the mountains with a snowy mountain in the background.

Wilderness emergency rescue helicopter in Austria.

How to Stay Safe in Remote Environments

To stay safety in remote areas, be prepared and cautious. Key safety measures in remote environments include staying humble, having a well-thought-out plan, maintaining physical fitness, and mastering navigation tools such as a compass and a map. It’s also crucial to stay connected—let others know your whereabouts and use technology to your advantage.

Proctor, who once backpacked solo for six months around remote regions of South America after studying abroad in Argentina and Chile, emphasizes the importance of carrying an emergency response device. These devices track your location, providing peace of mind to your family who can follow your progress online. They also have critical communication options.

Proctor explained, “You have buttons you can press on the device. One confirms your safety to others with an ‘okay’ signal. There’s an SOS option for serious but non-life-threatening emergencies, and a separate button for immediate helicopter evacuation when you need urgent extraction.”

Read about How Rustic Pathways keeps students safe

A backpacker facing away from the camera with a blue backpacked on. He is standing in a remote rode somewhere in a remote area of Brazil.

Backpacker in Brazil, South America.

Responsible Measures for Traveling in Remote Places

 When traveling to remote areas, it’s essential to take several responsible measures to ensure your safety and well-being:

  • Ensure you have adequate medical insurance.
  • Maintain a good diet and exercise routine before and during your trip, especially if it involves physically demanding activities.
  • Stay hydrated to cope with different climates and physical exertion.
  • Bring appropriate clothing and gear for your activities to handle varying weather and terrain.
  • Carry necessary medications, especially if you have allergies or chronic health conditions.
  • Choose travel destinations known for their safety.

Teens hiking in a remote area of Alaska.

About The Wilderness Medical Society

The Wilderness Medical Society is the largest international non-profit organization focused on wilderness medicine. Wilderness Medicine deals with providing medical care in remote and challenging environments in remote settings where traditional medical resources are limited.

Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician

A Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT) is a specialized EMT trained to provide medical care in remote environments. WEMT curriculum extends basic EM skills to address the unique demands of wilderness settings. This is ideal for those involved in rural EMS, search and rescue, law enforcement, disaster response, and wilderness expeditions, equipping them to better assess, treat, and stabilize patients until they can access comprehensive medical services.

Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician certifications are available through NOLS and other Wilderness First Aid responder recertification organizations. Actual credits awarded depend on WFR curriculum completion and can be done at your own pace.

Best Wilderness First Responder Courses

  1. NOLS: Wilderness First Responder (nols.edu)
  2. National Association for Search and Rescue: National Association For Search And Rescue (nasar.org)
  3. Wilderness Medical Associates:  Wilderness First Aid & Medical Training
  4. Solo Schools: SOLO Schools
  5. Desert Mountain Medicine: Desert Mountain Medicine
  6. Aerie Backcountry Medicine: Aerie Backcountry Medicine
  7. Center For Wilderness Safety: Center For Wilderness Safety
  8. Adventure Med: AdventureMed
About the Author
Scott Ingram

Scott is the Director of Admissions at Rustic Pathways. He has spent the last 15 years in the student travel and experiential education world. Before helping families find the perfect Rustic Pathways program, he led gap year programs that took students around the world and spent three years teaching English in Japan.