An additional takeaway, that had nothing to do with the gun vs bear spray debate: Get training and be prepared for anything.

One of the kids is from around here, and he's getting a lot of press lately. He had recently graduated from an EMT class and had been a volunteer at a local hospital.

He managed to keep his rather severly injured friends alive until the professionals got there. According to the news here, one had a fractured skull, and one had two sucking chest wounds. Not minor injuries at all. I'm not sure how much can be done for a skull fracture in the field (I'm an EMT, but I'm usually within 10 - 15 minutes of a hospital - backboard, collar, and go!), but the chest wounds would probably need to be managed carefully, with the management having a significant impact on outcome. Seems he did a really good job.

That a member of the party had medical training probably played a role in the good outcome.

(For the record, I rarely hike without bear spray, even in New York state, and I have never hiked with a firearm, except to get to and from my hunting spots. Now that I have kids in the woods with me, I'm thinking about changing that fact, but it's hard to get the right permits around here.)