Wild redcurrants succumb to the winter's cold outside New Glarus, Wisconsin.

As I planned for my journey out west I began to consider all of the dangers I might face. There is always the fear of the unknown. And certain amount of danger is necessary if a photographer is going to successfully capture remarkable images of nature’s glory.

I worried about the obvious. I could get mauled by a bear, bitten by a rattlesnake, or gored by a bull elk in heat. Not very pleasant ways to die if you ask me.

So I decided to arm myself with a gun; a very powerful hand gun you see. Sure, I shot a gun when growing up on the family farm, but I have not done so for many years. Learning to shoot a gun all over again is not something I worried about. How hard could it be?

I also decided to arm myself with knowledge. The more I knew about the dangers lurking in the woods of the western United States the better prepared I would be if and when something dangerous happened.

Here’s what I learned:

In 2009 there were only two fatal bear attacks in all of North America.

In 2008 there were three.

There are approximately 12 fatalities from venomous snakebites each year in the United States. Oddly, almost all of the victims are men (not good for me) and under the influence of alcohol (very good for me). Of course if I traveled to India my chances of dying from a snakebite increase dramatically. More than 10,000 people fell there last year from poisonous snakebites.

27 people died in 2009 under the fall of an avalanche. 36 died the year before. Even more died in Canada.

There is a 1-in-300,000,000 chance of dying in a fairground accident, which isn’t a big deal if you consider there is also a 1-in-250,000,000 chance of dying from a falling coconut. Lucky for me there aren’t many coconuts in Montana.

I have a 1-in-83,930 chance of being hit by and a 1-in-10,000,000 chance of dying from lightning. But my chances are probably far greater since I’m often outside taking pictures in the rain. I am also very tall.

Approximately 62,000 people die annually from natural disasters. Statistically very few of them are from the United States. So I have a .000062% chance of dying from a tornado, earthquake, tsunami, or hurricane…in Montana.

I have a 1-in-500,000 chance expiring in a train accident. There is an Amtrak station in Havre, you know.

There were a total of 1,100 fatalities occurred last year due to the accidental use of a firearm.

There were 5,357 motorcycle fatalities in the U.S. in 2008…and the figures for 2009 are expected to be much higher.

There is a 1-in-100 chance of dying while driving. More than 43,000 people died on American highways last year. I am driving 1300 miles to Montana and will put another 25,000+ miles on the road this year, which is many more miles than the average U.S. driver so I suppose my chances of dying in a car accident are higher.

Oh, and my chances of dying from heart disease or stroke are 1-in-2.5 (probably even higher).

Now that I think about it, I don’t think I need to buy a gun after all. I also better put away that cheeseburger…while driving…my motorcycle…in India.

Sorry, I couldn’t find any statistics about those who were killed by bull elks in heat.