The closest encounters were terrifying for a short time usually less than 5 o 10 minutes over the years.
My first encounter with a bear was in Yosemite National Park. I was walking down from walking under Yosemite Falls (there's a cave under there) when I was about 17 years old in 1965. It is amazing when the falls are running (but you don't want to go there below freezing unless you are an expert Ice climber with pitons and ice axe and even then you likely might have to get permission from the rangers to go there under these conditions. You have to take the trail half way up to the top of the falls from the valley to get here by the way safely. So, first locate this trail. It is not the trail to the very base of the falls where all the tourists go. You might only see one or a few people on the trail I'm talking about. if you are on the trail to the base you might see 50 people there at a time during the day and whole tourist buses empty onto this trail from the parking lot. This is not the trail you take to walk under where the falls first strike the ground and rocks.
Anyway, I was walking down this long trail on switchbacks when the bear and I saw each other and basically we both were scared and each ran the other direction. He was as scared of me as I was of him. But, he was not a Grizzly Bear which you only are going to see usually in Yellowstone, Glacier National Park or in Alaska and Canada. By the way, camping in Alaska is not a good idea simply because you might be food for a Grizzly or be considered a threat to his feeding territory and fair game to kill and eat in Alaska. Also, women on their moon should not hike where Grizzlies live because this drives them crazy and they often try to kill women on their moon. So, don't be this kind of victim, be smart.
The second experience I had with a Bear was in the 1980s within 10 miles of my A-Frame that my dad and I built with the help of my wife and children and friends. I was driving in my then International Harvester Scout II (the best REAL 4 wheel drive I ever owned for 4 wheel driving only).
However, I can do almost anything in my 2011 4wd Tundra that I could do with my Scout II. However, it helped blow out my wife's knee driving in traffic on a freeway with the Scout because of the stiff clutch on the manual hi-lo range locked rear end differential vehicle. It was even happy when the U-joint broke to the rear drive and I drove it for a few weeks in four wheel drive only because I had no U-joint because one was on order around Santa Cruz then in the 1980s. So, I drove with only the front wheels pulling. The only hard thing about this was it jumped like 4 wheel drives often do in slow turns at really slow speeds in 4 wheel drive on a paved road without mud or ice or snow. But, it was so well built it didn't complain even when I did this. Amazing 4 wheel drive. It was such a good 4 wheel drive of course they don't make them anymore.
My son who was born in 1974 was with my father and I. He passed away in 1985 so this had to be around 1981 or 1982. So, my son was 8 or under. He was standing up in the back seat looking over our shoulders on a 4 wheel drive road. I was showing off what my Scout II could do for my father who was loving being in such a very wild place. Suddenly a bear walked out in front of us and I almost ran him over. He felt threatened. (bears don't feel threatened by anything much) and this one might never have seen a human before because he was 20 miles from the nearest home where we were. He stood up on his hind legs and so he wouldn't damage my car or break a window I backed up about 20 feet and we just stayed there and watched him. So, he stood up threatening us on his rear legs and threatening to paw us to death. Finally, he realized we weren't going to attack him so he lumbered off into the bushes to the left of the road. This was a really amazing experience when you meet an animal like this that considers himself to be top of the food chain and not you.
I've had more experiences but none affected me as much as this last one in a variety of ways. It was wonderful to share an experience like this with my Dad before he died. And my son was really amazed by this experience too!
My one experience of a Grizzly Bear in person was the opposite of this one. I was in Yellowstone National Park summer 2007 and heading towards Cody, Wyoming towards that exit out of Yellowstone to Cody. Everyone stopped along the road and I asked what it was. The man said, "It's a Grizzly Bear eating flowers about 100 yards from the road."
So, I parked my motor home and left my family in the motor home and joined the people watching the Grizzly bear. However, then a ranger told us to stay where we were because he was going to arrest someone who had gotten too close. The ranger said, "People who go to close might make the bear kill them or maim them because they don't understand Grizzly bears and how they think."
But, what I saw was like "Flower Child Grizzly Bear" which was a bear enjoying Spring time in the summer sitting among acres of blooming "Spring in Summer" flowers and eating the ones he liked one by one. Amazing Experience with a Grizzly!
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