A buddy of mine hike a lot in the mountains east of Albuquerque. There are black bears but pretty small. (Chased two off my property this year, probably 200 lbs max) He carries one of the super light Smiths in .357 stoked with 170 grain hard cast bullets. Fired it at the range to get a feel for it, and it split the web of his hand open. Still carries it but hopes he won’t have to use it.
Bears here in NW Oklahoma are rarer than hen’s teeth, but we do have big cats. A .45 might do the trick, but higher speed rounds give me more confidence.