Consider the following scenario: You and the other members of your group are finally relaxing around the evening campfire after another long day of hiking in a remote section of Allegheny National Forest. Suddenly, the shared banter and laughter is interrupted by a loud cry from your friend who, sitting just across from you while whittling, just sliced deeply into the back of his hand with his knife. As he leaps to his feet, you immediately see the blood begin to pour from the wound and vigorously drip from his fingers. You recognize immediately that this cut is bad … very bad. A knot forms in your stomach because you also know that it will realistically be almost twenty hours before he can get proper medical care. After all, the group can’t safely start the hike out until dawn, and not only does there remain a hard fifteen mile hike […]
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