Lighting is actually one of the biggest killers in the wilderness. It kills on a average of 7.5 Canadians per year, far more than the 1.4 per year killed by Bears.

It is also very powerful. I came across this tree in a cut block the morning after a very powerful storm in the Rocky Mountain foothills. This popular tree was shattered by lighting and shards were driven 30cm into the ground over 25m away. The man-sized shard I am standing beside was drive over 30cm into solid soil and was one of hundreds scattered around the tree. I could not pull out this shard. I actually kept another smaller shard of this tree just as a reminder of the true power of lighting. I was happy to have been camping in low ground over 2km from this point.