Guns are legal in the NF to bad more people don't carry. But a lot of people have brought into the idea that guns are bad and bears are nice.
I am sure the mother wished now she would have been armed and knew how to shoot.
Any gun is better then your fists.
Arming yourself is a good thing to do, but carrying a portable radio is another alternative as it alerts the bears to your presence and allows them time to get out of the area.
Most attacks happen when bears are surprised or a female has cubs and you get too close.
Nothing more vicious than a mama bear with babies!
We used to haul our horses to the Cherokee National Forest to ride the mountain trails and roads. I always carried my pistol in a holster attached to the saddle horn. One day I became separated from the rest of the family and encountered a jeep full of rowdy drunks. They considered harrassing me until they saw the pistol on the saddle. They left. Well, along came a park ranger. He was concerned that I was that far back in the mountains on horseback alone. I explained that the rest of the family was up there somewhere and he noticed the pistol. He didn't say a word about it but his face changed. He wished me a nice day and told me to try to catch up to the rest. He never mentioned the gun. I guess he figured a female alone on horseback in the mountains needed all the help she could get. LOL I often rode alone and ALWAYS carried the gun and a self-defense knife strapped to my leg, inside my pants leg. I didn't have a carry permit at that time but TN is usually pretty cool when it comes to self-defense, especially when it's a woman alone. They use a little common sense. I have had a permit for five years and always carry when I'm alone.
I grew up in these mountains and personally it's not the wildlife such as bears that worry me. All that I've ever encountered, with the exception of wild hogs, were very shy. It's the two-legged predators that I worry most about.