I just cycled the Dalton Highway and carried with me seven days of food, mostly prepackaged meals. Here is what I did:
- I put food, food trash and toothpaste in odor proof bags. This stayed in a pannier on the bike, away from the tent
- I considered a bear-proof canister but ended up shipping it ahead to Fairbanks because I exceeded my space budget (one food pannier) and couldn't get it to fit.
- Otherwise stayed overnight close to the highway.
I saw one back bear and heard people talking about a grizzly when I was in Deadhorse but didn't otherwise see the bear.

About to take off from Fairbanks and I have the bear canister strapped on top of my front rack. I'll leave food in it and when camped leave it a short ways away from camp.

I haven't looked at bear spray, though local sport stores do seem to carry it to be mounted in a water bottle holder. A firearm wouldn't make sense mostly because I do not normally shoot. However, also believe I would likely not be able to carry it across the Canadian border.