I thought that if faced with a bear we were supposed to not make eye contact and back slowly away. For all animals, look bigger than you are by waving arms. Also the Deep Woods Dry spray works great for me and doesn't make my skin crawl. I hate going to sleep with the regular stuff on, it feels sticky and reeks.
Hanging food would be a good addition to this list for new campers. I hiked in the Sierra Nevada Mountains when a park ranger told us we didn't have to hang our food. I'm glad we didn't listen. I woke up to a bear print right by my head. Apparently, the same ranger said the same thing to another hiker the week before. He decided to put his food under his head for safe keeping. A bear scalped him and he had to be air lifted out. The ranger seems like a bit of a psycho.
