You’re not done exploring; however, hiking, travel, and outdoor odysseys after age 50 come with a different set of concerns. Medications, slower healing, balance, and heat tolerance all change the game. Learn how to prevent, recognize, and treat common wilderness and travel emergencies. Each class includes real cases, demonstrations of skills, and practical checklists. Leave with a custom first aid kit plan and the confidence to say “yes” to your next  adventure. Who it’s for: Hikers, travelers, grandparents, snowbirds, and anyone over 50 who refuses to sit still.

Week 1: Foundations – The 50+ Body in the Wild

• Why age changes your risk: medications, balance, heart, skin, healing
• Red flags that mean “stop and get help”  
• Build your personal info card: meds, allergies, contacts
• Upgrade your first aid kit: what to add  

Week 2: Environmental Threats – Heat, Cold, Lightning

• Hypothermia and heat stroke: why seniors get it faster and miss the signs
• Medications that wreck your temperature control
• The 30/30 rule for lightning, what to do if someone’s struck
• Hydration math: electrolytes vs water

Week 3: Trauma – Bleeding, Falls, Fractures

• Blood thinners and head injuries: the deadly combo nobody talks about
• Skin tears, wound cleaning, and infection risk with diabetes
• Why falls are the #1 cause of wilderness evacuations after 50, and how to prevent them
• Splints, slings, and tourniquets: when to use, when to evacuate

Week 4: Altitude, Water, Wilderness Illness

• Altitude sickness, HAPE, HACE: extra risk with sleep apnea, HTN, stents
• Recognizing a heart attack when “you’re just tired” at 10,000 feet
• Travelers’ diarrhea: dehydration + kidney meds = danger
• Water treatment: filters, pills, boiling — what works for viruses
• Tick bites and Lyme disease: why seniors get sicker

Week 5: Animals – From Stings to Bears

• Anaphylaxis: EpiPen skills + why death rates are higher after 50
• Snakebite, spiders, jellyfish: what helps, what’s a myth
• Dog and cat bites: rabies risk and wound care that prevents infection
• Bear safety: black vs grizzly behavior, bear spray done right
• If attacked: play dead vs fight back — species matters

Week 6: Travel Medicine and Putting It All Together

• Vaccines, malaria, DVT on flights: what changes with age
• Medicare stops at the border: insurance and evacuation planning
• Packing meds: time zones, generics, 2x supply rule
• Go/No-Go decisions: chest pain, confusion, vomiting at altitude
• Group scenarios: You make the call on real cases