i agree bears are amazing animals! i am lucky in that i see lots while hiking, and no troubles so far. one thing though, the saying lay on the ground and cover your pits/groin etc, is only a good one for black bears and brown bears that are defending cubs etc. a brown bear that is protecting a kill/food source is simply going to eat you if you lay there... laying down is good as long as bears, mainly brown, are not in eating mode. Unfortunately last time i was at Whistler (british columbia) they shot and killed 3 bears in a few days...one of which i saw and photographed. The interesting thing is there have been next to NO bear atacks tehre, only encounters...and "conservation" officers kill tehm if they return....very sad and teh exact reason i will never go to that place again....they have totally fucked the local environment so people can skii all day and drink all night....very sad here is a bear i saw a few weeks ago hiking in BC. lovely little black bear chompin on some wild clover this guy looks around 2 years, i think