That would not be the bear's fault.

to get to where they were going, as it says in the article.

and all you have is bear spray. Talk about panic-inducing. Best hope they're in a good mood!

the ending would have been a lot different.

And I did not spot any jagged edge rocks to fire at them either.

On bears, cougars, raccoons, mice, rats and any other critters that try to climb the tree that your food bag is hung from. Just a wee squirt around the trunk at eye level.
Even works to keep a curious bull moose from getting too close to you. Just don't spray it upwind of you, don't ask...

In Montana, when I hiked there some years ago, there was sage advice posted at the trail head.

The sign warned that both Black Bears and Grizzlies were in the area and advised that the way to safeguard from attack was to wear small bells on your clothing, to alert the bears you were nearby, and to carry pepper spray to use if the bears got too close.

The sign said the best way to determine if there were bears nearby was to look for fresh scat along the trails. Black Bear scat, it said, has small berries and bits of fur mixed in, all part of the bear's diet. Grizzly scat was easier to identify as it's larger, smells like pepper spray, and has little bells sprinkled throughout.