Read, I like to hunt bears and would hunt that place. There's no getting around multiple trips out with a heavy pack if you score. I would hire someone to help me if I called, or look for volunteers ...
Two things sound really good -- lots of bears and difficult access. The more difficult the better. If baiting were legal I would make a small bait station and maintain it regularly. It's good exercise
Bears love it thick and will stay in the thick stuff almost all the time, thick enough to piss off a weasel. They also love it very, very steep if possible.
I would bait a place with lots of oak trees nearby, a long way from people, and with thick cover very close. One thing to remember is that you need to be as quiet as possible coming in. You can't walk through the thicket and then hunt it. Try to approach from the other side of a ridge, and try to put your stand as far as possible away from the bait. The bear will probably come with the break of day or end of it.
I've learned these things more from failure than success. If you don't want to bait, working the oaks is the best option if they are bearing during the hunt. Bears will stand under an oak and shake it like an apple tree machine if the tree is small enough. But you need a ridge full of oaks, because they don't fruit all at once and the critter will be making the rounds searching for those that offer the easiest meal. Bear paw patches will not show hoof marks like deer paws do. Also, if a bear spends any time in an area it will crap there. Every time. Deer love acorns as well. A place really thick in oak fruit will have lots of deer as well as bear, turkey and everything else around, so it is in effect good scouting for both deer and bear. As a last note, if there are such a thing as prevailing winds, use them to your advantage. Without wind, air will gently rise up a ridge as the sun comes out and fall down it as the sun goes in. Better to be lateral from the bait if possible. You may have to trim a shooting lane. Or two. Do this early in the scouting process and in phases.
Good luck. Bears are stealthy, have superb senses of smell and hearing and are a great, great animal that any hunter would be proud of. It is much more difficult to bag a good bear than a good deer. In the fall they are the slaves of their stomachs, and it is pretty much their only weakness in areas where spot and stalk is a no-go (I'm assuming you don't have dogs.)
Will look for your pics here ...
