Last year was my first year Fly Fishing in Alaska and we saw tons of bear tracks. Luckily no bear as they were still high eating berries waiting for the Salmon die-off. A few around but no encounters along the lines of the stories I have heard. The old joke about being faster than the slowest guy might ring true but in reality are you really gonna run while your buddy is being attacked.

So far I have been offered 50 cal and 44 mag pistols to carry. "If you want to carry that thing go ahead"...just extra weight. You don't stand much of a chance shooting a charging bear with that.

Have to rely on awareness, local news, noise, smells, scat, tracks, and common sense I guess along with a good can of bear spray. The stats I read favored the outcome on encounters of people using a spray vs. Guns. Need to look that one up again. Ones using guns that wounded the animal were hurt worse.

Saw one walk in front of the truck last Oct and my buddy got out to take a PIC. That thing ran FAST like a cat and it was a good size Grizzly so I can imagine that running towards us. Saw it bolt 100 yards to a tree line.

I am still hunting Cow Elk right now this and last year preparing for a Trophy Bull hunt I have scheduled in 2016 and all I can tell you is that I am "Bear Aware!"

Thank you for posting all these stories as they provide great insight.