I read that article, lots of good info in it, and it's straight to the point. I've spent a lot of time in the woods where I live, and we probably still have the highest black bear density population in North America. Of course, you hardly ever see a bear as the forest is pretty dense here and lots of places for them to hide. I have had a few bear encounters, but most of them were hunting related, so it's not like a fully natural encounter.

I'm getting to the point in my life where I'm starting to "wise up" to things. I've never carried bear spray, but I think I should probably start.

Talking aloud to yourself is a good noisemaker to avoid bears. You're basically announcing your presence as you go along, and the bears will go hide and watch you pass by. You'll never even know they were there. Of course, if you're not hiking alone, it's probably better to talk to the other person so that they don't think you're nuts.

The only time I ever felt threatened by a bear was when helping a friend check his hunting bear bait. We were putting out some donuts when we heard a big crack of a branch breaking. My friend said it was time to go, that the noise was a dominant bear coming in to the bait and making a sign for everything to get lost. We went back the next morning, and there were huge bear footprints that had walked on top of ours from the night before, following our exact trail from the bait to the car. I never went back to that spot again.