Abigail and I have had the pleasure to work with the Hualapai River Runners for the last three weeks! We taught Wilderness Advanced First Aid and both River Rescue and Swiftwater Rescue. Being my fifth year in Peach Springs (and second year out at Grand Canyon West), some of the guys were able to update to the Wilderness First Responder level of training by participating in a total of 14o hours of training and passing both practical and written exams and evaluations. 
We started out doing the first Wilderness Advanced First Aid out at Grand Canyon West on the western rim of the Grand Canyon. Fourteen pontoon boat operators and greeters joined us for the four day, 36 hour course which included CPR and AED training. We spent time after class exploring the beauty of the Western Rim of the Grand Canyon, and our new mascot Georgie got some time getting used to the desert. After a great week on the Western Grand Canyon rim, we moved to Peach Springs to work with the downriver boatmen of Hualapai River Runners. In Peach Springs, we had 7 boatman upgrade their Wilderness Advanced First Aid certifications to Wilderness First Responder and we had two Wilderness First Responder Recertifications to give out from last year. For our third week, we all hit the water for some river rescue training. We swam rapids, practiced swimmer pick ups with the HRR boats, did the strainer swim, some shallow water crossings, throw bagging, entrapment rescues, and many other drills. The last two days we spent running the river from Diamond Creek to Pierce Ferry with most of the river runners in paddle boats. We were treated incredibly well by all the HRR river runners and staff and are extremely thankful for the opportunity to work with the river runners! We now know all of the HRR boatman by name and personality! Thanks so much to Christa, Kelsey, Liam, and Jason for the assistance in Instruction! and especially to all you wonderful men and women of HRR!
