No matter what you are doing it is always a good idea to have a well stocked first-aid kit with you. Preparation will get you through all but the most unforgiving of emergencies.

“Khuughhhg kughg kughg.” Nearly drowning is not fun. Try it sometime, it think you will agree with me. When you are done you can give it another go… in a fast moving mountain stream.

Kurt silently narrated his misery while clearing the intruding water from his body. The only sounds he could make out were the rush of water downstream and the desperate coughing of his own body trying to breath just a little bit of air.

Once his breathing was under control again kurt shrugged his pack off his back and began digging through it for the sealed plastic bag that contained his spare clothes. He tossed aside his bag of spices and extra water bottles as he fought back the panic that had consumed him when he fell into the water.

Kurt had thought that his mother was being overly concerned when she packed his bag full of extra’s such as spare socks and clothes, two days of food and god knows what else, ‘just in case.’ Once he was dry, (turns out she packed a towel too) and in clothes that weighed more than the moisture they had managed to soak up, Kurt took a moment to appreciate his mother.

Once his moment had passed Kurt very quickly realised he had no clue where he was. The logical part of his mind told him he had some clue, he just had to look for a landmark or something. After all the stream only went one way downhill. Unfortunately for logic the fact that he was looking at a bush with sky blue leaves, and his sarcastic side, told him he wasn’t in kansas anymore.

Kurt began looking through his pack to see what exactly he had with him.

Wet clothes, a mostly wet towel, four half liter water bottles one empty. Three dry pairs of socks, a first-aid kit, his spices. A “meals-ready-to-eat” style ration with 6000 calories worth of food split into three meals, a candybar, and two turkey sandwiches with the crusts cut off.

The first aid kit contained an epi-pen, a tourniquet, a pressure bandage, an assortment of common medicines, adhesive bandages, and several water purification tablets.

Kurt packed away his gear and sat down to a quick lunch of turkey sandwiches and delicious chocolate. It was an hour later when he looked down at his watch and decided that help wasn’t coming anytime soon.

If Kurt wasn’t going to wait for help then he had two options. Follow the water upstream or follow it downstream. Neither option was guaranteed to lead him to safety but they each had clear advantages. Going upstream should lead Kurt back to his friends, or at least the trail they had been following. Going down stream would lead him safety down the mountain, provided that he did not encounter any waterfalls, and should take him past the same trail his group had been hiking up.

Kurt eyed the blue bush before following the water downstream.