Our last week at the Wilderness EMT course was surprisingly less stressful than the rest of the time. Although we had quizzes, tests, and and hands-on practical exams almost every day, by this time we were ready to take the final and be done with the class. I think we were just tired of studying, really. So on a free afternoon, Aaron and I went out for a last hike. We were feeling spunky, and headed toward the river, which I hadn't crossed before. Supposedly the mountain lion lives over here, although the instructors are pretty sure that it has headed to higher elevations for the summer.
There is no easy way to cross the river, which was running about mid-thigh in the middle depths. Aaron braved it barefoot to save his shoes, while I just plunged through and hoped my feet would dry out. I actually felt less wet than I sometimes did running in the rain in England, anyway.
The slickrock across the river was actually quite a bit bigger than the stuff near our cabin. We climbed up a narrow valley and found ourselves with a bird's eye view over the campus. Aaron was hoping to see a rattlesnake (I secretly wasn't) but we did see some owl poop. Basically the desiccated remains of a mouse, some bones and skin.
A full circle brought us back down to river level, across a marsh where both our shoes got filled with dirt, but still no rattlesnakes. We did find an old tractor, and the remains of the a burnt house.
And since this all happened a couple of weeks ago, I can happily say that I passed my Wilderness EMT course, and I am now officially an EMT. That's kind of scary. At the time, I was just happy to be done with the class and get home again!
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