This document consists of the six issues of the "Wilderness Medicine Newsletter" published during 1997. The newsletter provides medical and rescue information for the non-physician in remote wilderness areas. Issues typically include feature articles, conference and training courses schedules, an "Ask the Expert" column, and personal narratives. Feature articles in this volume cover managing fractures in a wilderness environment; winter trip advice; drowning and near-drowning assistance; bats and rabies; women's health issues; potable water; Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders), an international humanitarian medical relief agency; a proposed river-crossing rating and assessment system; an overview of tick-borne diseases; death in the backcountry; and an update on the Prehospital Emergency Training, Standards, and Accreditation Committee (PETSAC). (SAS)