Pro-tip for solo hiking (and I do mean SOLO, I saw one man at the river at the start of this hike and did not see another human for the rest of the hike, not even at the lake):
To ensure you don’t surprise any bears or any other creatures, sing your favorite Disney tunes to the trees. I have had ample practice thanks to Snarf’s (shout out to my lit fam) so I know many of the words to many songs. Some favorites: Part of Your World, Colors of the Wind, Let It Go, You’ll Be in My Heart, every song from Hercules, I’ll Make a Man Out of You, A Whole New World, Hakuna Matata.