My experience mirrors yours... most of the advice out there seems to suggest 2k-3500ft when based off of the low elevation drainages like the Selway, Salmon, Clearwater, Snake, or Lochsa. However, I've glassed 8 bears so far this spring in several of the above mentioned drainages... and all but two were over 4k feet, several in the 5k ft range. Zero sign on the nearly hundred miles of low elevation trails I've hiked since April 1st... and most of the bears have been on northerly facing slopes, with just a few on southerly facing slopes. These areas have been in full bloom with flowers and green grass and temps in the 70s since the end of March... but the bears are still acting quite lethargic and if they are out, they are munching heavily on grass. Bears I saw just 3 days ago included one very fat boar, but none seemed inclined to leave a couple hundred square yard area. I would also add... if it looks like a good area on ONX or Google Earth... and if there is an easily accessible trailhead... expect company. If you go to any of the main trailheads on any of the above mentioned river systems, expect 10-20 other hunters rigs to be parked there, and expect that the previous week there were another couple dozen that came and went that you didn't even see. 90% of them will not see a thing... likewise, if there is a glassing ridge within 10 miles of a trailhead, and a water source within a mile of good tent sites, then you better expect to see a tipi already there when you arrive. If you want to see bears, you probably want to go to spots that don't look as good while E-Scouting, or find ridges no one wants to camp on and haul up an extra 20lbs of water.
