How bad are the bears up in AK?
I've camped with Griz in WY and MT and camped with Black Bears in MN, WY and MT. Never had an issue with either one, I've only seen 2 wild griz in my life, both in WY. One at 100 yards and another at 1/2 mile or so, neither cared I was there. I've seen two black bears in the wild, had one in camp rub against my tent in the BWCA, I slapped the side of the tent and bear split. Had another pass through camp in WY, didn't see it only heard it walk by the tent and woke me up, it sniffed around a bit and left camp.
I have a lot of respect for bears, I don't go looking for them and I try to keep camp as clean as possible to discourage bears from visiting. I have both griz I saw as much room as they wanted, not sure if they even knew I was there.