Ted
There is a lot of good advice here. I'm from Canada and have a life time of hiking and camping experience in B.C. ,Alberta and the Yukon. Lots of 1 week or more canoeing trips. I have come across and seen 100's of bears both black and grizzlys, I carry no firearms and no bear spray but do carry a whistle and a bell on my pack.
I store food up and away from my tent and do dishes and brush my teeth away from the camp.
Problem bears are usually near population centers not in the wild.
This summer in Eagle Plains Yukon, I watched a hotel employee pepper spray a problem garbage black bear in the face and it just shook its head side to side and continued to knock over litter barrels, he sprayed it again and it did the same thing so he went inside came out with a rifle and the rest was history. So from what I saw pepper spray may not always work, plus you better have the bear down wind before using it
A canoe trip in the Yukon will be remembered for a life time!!!
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