Several weeks ago I overheard an interesting conversation at my favorite little gas station in Snohomish.
I was gassing up my tin can Toyota truck when somebody pulled into the pump behind me, apparently an acquaintance of the fellow using the other side of the pump I was on. He was filling up his big 'ol truck and speedboat and started talking about the camping trip he was about to go on. I wasn't really paying attention till he said " I'm worried about bears". His friend had about the same response as I felt; "Really?" he asked with some surprise. "Oh yeah, the camper guy says , " but that's OK, I'm packing pepper spray and my 44." I was presuming he was referring to the caliber of his pistol with the 44, but thinking about it later I wondered if he was referring to his I.Q. I don't have an I.Q., never having been tested, but looking it up on the internet I found 44 to be in the general feeb category, which fit my impression of this guy. Now I was worried about bears. I was worried that one of them might run into this fool packing whatever his 44 was.
In my experience with bears over the years, I would have to say that in terms of Human-Bear relations, bears usually make the more intelligent response - they run! away from you the human as fast as possible. Most bear problems are human enabled - feeding bears either intentionally , or by being sloppy with your foodstuffs while camping. I mean, like, don't sleep in your tent with a chicken salad sandwich next to your head. Of course there is the infamous issue of surprising a momma bear with cubs, which could be bad news for a person.
A while back Rob Sandelin had a great post about the split response one may have in coming across a bear (in his story a cub with an invisible Mom out there somewhere). First the interest and joy that a naturalist may feel upon seeing a bear, and then the deeper, more visceral body reaction to seeing a bear - "eek a bear- Run!". I mean these are wild creatures and even a small one could perforate you badly if they wanted too. But usually they don't. I'm talking Washington State black bears here of course - Grizzly's another story maybe.
The only encounter I ever had with a bear cub was many years ago in the highly dissected country just above Entiat. It was October, and hunting season ( I presume) and I surprised the cub up in a narrow valley above the orchard I was working in. I didn't even have time to worry about mamma bear, because the little guy took off like a rocket straight up a steep bunchgrass slope. It was moving at such a speed that it left a rooster tail of dust behind it, like a Roadrunner cartoon. It zoomed up about a hundred yards to the top of the slope when it turned briefly to see if I was following, and then disappeared over the ridge. I imagine that an Olympic track and field medalist after witnessing such an athletic display, might just give up competition and head to the nearest tavern and just get drunk.
My last bear encounter was a few years ago above the North Cascades Institute Center, on Diablo Lake. On an early morning solo hike to get some space from my fellow environmentalists, I was coming back down the mountain through the mostly open forest. I paused briefly in the lush growth near a small stream, listening for a bird, when only about 30 feet away a bear came out onto the trail just below me. As I was being still, it didn't see me. Bears are sort of nearsighted. Well it was coming right towards me on the trail and I had my little "eek!" moment. It was getting really close so I started waving my arms to get it's attention. It was the bear's turn to have an "eek" moment, which it did in spectacular fashion by running to nearest big Dougfir tree and zooming up it's big clear bole about 20 feet before turning around to look at me. This was a young bear, not a cub, but it looked considerably larger hanging up there above me. I just stood still (for what seemed to be a long time, but wasn't) and the bear backed down the tree and crashed away into the brush. It was moaning and groaning loudly, the first time I've ever heard a bear really. I imagine it saying something like "you almost gave me a heart attack you jerk!".
Only one time I saw a bear that didn't run off. I was hiking up Flat Creek trail, a seldom used path from the Stehekin Valley up towards Glacier Peak, I was alone (as I have been with all my bear sightings but one) and walking up through the largely open forest, when coming around a bend I saw the largest Black Bear I've ever seen. It was brown and verging on Grizzly size, but still 'only' a Black Bear. It was about 80 feet away, eating blueberries off the tall bushes along the trail. It was a great blueberry year. I watched it eating for awhile, and wanting to continue my hike, I stepped forward a bit. I got the bear's attention - it got on the trail, and in it's nearsighted way swayed about trying to get a better look or scent of me.
I took a step forward. The bear, calm as forest royalty, also took a step forward. I waited and took another step forward. The bear took another step forward. This scenario clearly wasn't working for me, so I stopped. The bear stopped. Did I mention that this was a really big Bear? I couldn't help but think of a childhood poem I grew up with :
Algy saw the Bear The Bear saw Algy The Bear was bulgy The bulge was Algy.
Not wanting to be the Algy of this childhood food chain poem, I just stood there. The big bear was fine with that and slowly moved on back to it's berry feast. I reversed my bearings, back down to the Stehekin I went.

Jeff Gibsonthinking of bears in Everett Wa