eamyrick - Sounds like you are moving too fast/covering too much ground. They spook very easily and are gone.
MD126 - We have killed several in our camp, usually one per year. I killed a sow in '10 while I was still hunting and missed an opportunity at a big boar in '17 while standing watch on a drive. Most often we see them on drives as we are not allowed to bait by law. Don't plan on hearing them moving unless they are pushed. They walk downed logs and are surprisingly quiet and fast. If pushed they sound like a train coming through!
If there is a good crop of mast they will tear up the forest floor, no mast and they travel quite far and quite quickly. I tried to keep up with one in November of '17 and again this past Nov and there was no way i could.
That track is about 5" in length and i followed it several miles and never caught sight of the bear.
If you can find a good patch of acorn or beech nuts you may have luck sitting there. You may want to try calling them as well, have had them come in to a predator call. Also, a small pump spray bottle like you find in the travel section at wall mart with real vanilla extract may work if sitting on a mast source...
I have actually seen far more bears than bucks in the area I hunt, southern Adirondacks. We have lots of beech, no oaks and a good amount of cherry. They will bust the tops out of the cherry and beech trees.
They tend to hang out in the rock ledges and are a blast to listen to in the evening during the mating period. Our area is "big" woods, probably last cut in the 30's and can be quite open under story so you can see very well. They will run the thick stuff and then come out to feed in the open where the mast is.
Good luck and hope this helps a little. Oh, and if ya shoot one it is like dragging a bag of jello. I'll never do it again, skin and quarter and pack out is the way to go if you are more than 100 yards to the road!