Worked in the forestry industry for about 12 years and had a few run-ins with bears.
There was one area I worked in for a few months and there was a brown bear I ran into almost every day almost in the exact spot...........most times we saw each other from a long enough distance, or we heard each other and avoided a close encounter. One day we got a little too close for comfort......I started walking uphill at the end of the day towards my truck. I decided to take a quick rest as it was summer time and I was needing some water. I had my head down for a few minutes, looked up and saw the bear walking about 50 feet in front of me, unaware I was there. As I stood up, he heard/saw me, charged me a bit, then stood on his hind legs....by the time he got to me he was only probably about 20 feet or less away. For a fairly small bear he looked pretty damn big when standing up! I stood my ground, yelled a bit, then looked for rocks to start throwing at him........he took off and that was pretty much it.
Bears are actually pretty timid.........as long as they hear you or see you from a long distance you won't usually have a problem. Startle them or get too close when they have food or cubs with them and it could be a different story.
The best advice is just to make lots of noise when travelling in the backcountry. Bear bangers and bear spray aren't bad options, either.
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