IMTUO (= in my totally unqualified opinion ...)
and FMFAC (= from my favorite arm chair ... <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />)

- if you bring a gun, keep it with you, for obvious security reasons ; if you need it, you don't want it a hundred meters away .... and having it on you, is the best way to "control" it and to insure nobody else (kid, untrained adult etc..) will eventually "play" with it ;
- as Chris said, don't put your finger on the trigger until the pistol is trained on a really identified target.

Disclaimer : I haven't the least experience with bears (except for having seen some on TV and in a Zoo ..... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Second disclaimer : my firearms experience is limited to paper target shooting (making holes from .17 up to .45 inches)

And I guess if I had been in your shoes at that time, I may well have done the same things... <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />