Close Encounters of the Ursus Kind

So I finally had my first bear encounter on Tuesday. I was at my point, surveying the structure, when I heard loud rustling noises coming from about 20 meters away. I hadn't heard the animal walk up so I was pretty surprised that it had managed to get so close; there is so much ground "garbage" (sticks, downed logs, ground vegetation) that it's nearly impossible for a human to walk around undetected, much less a bear. Surprisingly, I wasn't scared, just curious, since I couldn't actually see the animal. I knew it wasn't an elk or deer, because they're tall enough that they would have been above the vegetation. So I yelled out, "Hey, bear!" and the rustling stopped. I yelled again and I heard a bunch of frantic movement in my direction. I had my pepper spray in hand as I yelled a third time, and the bear started to move in the opposite direction. I grabbed my binoculars and saw it crashing through the thorny vegetation, trying to get as far away from me as possible. After a few seconds it stopped, turned at looked at me. From out of nowhere, I raised my hand to wave, and lamely said, "Bye, bear". Once it realized I wasn't going to chase it or hurt it, it slowly walked over a hill and out of sight.
Once the field season is officially over, I will tally up the cool wildlife sightings I've had this summer.