You do know the odds are on your side, don’t you? You know it’s unlikely to encounter a grizzly in the backcountry, or a mountain lion in your backyard, right? Then again, as Han Solo said, “Never tell me the odds.” That’s the quandary. Even if you know what the numbers say, you know the numbers do not provide any guarantees. That fact, that basic unpredictability, defines the Idaho outdoors. Steve Stevenson of Winnemucca, Nev., died Friday in what appears to be an unlikely encounter. His hunting partner believed he had shot a black bear — a smaller species and the party’s intended quarry — but had instead shot one of the estimated 45 grizzlies that live along the border between Montana and the Idaho Panhandle. The wounded grizzly charged, killing Stevenson. According to the odds, something like this shouldn’t happen/Kevin Richert, Statesman. More here.

Question: Have you ever been on the losing side when the odds seemed overwhelmingly in your favor?