I've heard that some people wear bells when walking in bear country. It might help, but then again, it might just cause a lot of bears to have bells in their poop. ;o)
We've had so much tree damage over the years that they haven't really cleaned up that it might be hard to tell what's new and what's old. We had to go around quite a few downed trees last weekend, so I'm sure it's really bad out there now.
They say that's how you differentiate between black bear poop and grizzly poop. :~D
I love the quiet, I wouldn't want to have bells on that keep me from hearing anything else... birds and running water.... even the sound of a bear crashing through the brush up ahead. :~D
We are most likely to see one coming right down the trail, or walking right down the road, than anywhere else. They use the trails and roads to get around, they don't like fighting their way through tangle sticks any more than we do. And in some parts, they could eat their fill of berries without leaving the path.