It's fun to geek about stuff like this - it reminds me how much more comfortable I am in the wilderness than I used to be, and arms me to help noobs come along with less fear.

Too many people think about bears and not at all about falling, drowning or lightning. In California at least the bears are not the real danger - something to know enough about to avoid them, and why. Just not the most likely to kill or injure you. Lightning isn't even a real big danger for a lot of folks who see a few drops of rain on the forecast and stay home. One of my semi regular backpacker buddies cancels his trips for rain. He just doesn't like hiking in it.

Knowing what the real odds are and knowing what to do "just in case" always helps.