3 summers back my wife and I were hiking on Cape Breton Island. A few folks coming the other way warned us that bears had been spotted around the trail. We proceeded cautiously and sure enough at one point we could see a fairly large black bear rummaging in a field about 20-30 meters off the trail. We tried to be fast and quiet, but at one point the bear looked up and we were eye-to-eye for a second. It eventually returned to it’s business, and I’ve rarely been as unnerved as then. I’ve seen deer and an elk up close on trails but they didn’t rattle me as much even though they’re bigger.