Bears have poor eyesight.  I'm not sure how close you were, but it is
apparent you startled the bear and I would guess close enough it felt the
need to charge to scare off the threat. In our upright stance, we can appear
to be an upright, aggressive bear to those dim eyes.  Holding your arms out
and waving them may help a bear realize you are human.  It seems once this
animal got a whiff of your scent it realized its error and ran off. Do make
noise, but not a growl.  And its best to continually make noise while you
walk so the bears hear you coming.  You might not see them, but that is
better than walking into them or their offspring. Alerting them to your
presence before they get to you is always in order. Running is not a good
idea, better to back off as quickly and safely as possible.  They can always
outrun us and if you are meant to be a meal, they will catch you regardless
of where you run or hide. They are more likely to use caution if you remain
facing them.

William,
    Just as a matter of clarification, I don't think the bear was really
'charging me'. However he was coming down the trail  in a manner that told
me he was going to investigate me and my first thought was to simply get out
of his sight. Hence the scramble into the brush, which I tried to do at a
hasty, but leisurely pace. I knew I didn't want to run and I didn't want to
retreat either. I was trying to avoid provoking any sort of a predator
response in him. I hoped that he would have an out-of-sight, out-of-mind
reaction. Maybe figure whatever I was had disappeared, so to hell with it.
    I believe the bear was a male. He was at least fifty yards up the trail
with a bunch of smaller bears. My first thought was that mama was coming
after me. However after this bear had taken off in the opposite direction, I
continued up the trail and spotted the cubs and mama further down the hill.
My suspicion is that, since males don't normally travel with females and/or
their cubs, that he was checking her out to see if she was in heat yet. The
cubs were probably last year's so this would be her year to mate, as I
understand bears. The cubs will be born in the den during the winter.
    Whatever happened, I am in no hurry to repeat it. I think my scent was
probably what told him I was not a prey item. He got too close for comfort
and I was never quite successful in finding an hiding place. The decision
not to do me in was his. Whatever triggered it was, as Martha would say, "a
good thing."

    Jerry Tarbell