I wouldn't worry about the bears camping. I've never seen or heard one camping, however there is a bear that visits my house every night. So your chances for an encounter are actually much more likely on my couch haha. Besides the black bears of CO are a bunch of pussies and will run at first fright.
If you hike Grays/Torrey's I'd definitely take up Kelso ridge to Torrey's and then you can take the saddle over to Gray's. You can only run up the bottom part of the hike as the upper half has a lot more scrambling and minor climbing. But it is much more interesting than the main route and much less travelled. If you are comfortable with some easy climbing it's totally worth it. Here is a link with a description. You can also camp for free at the base of the hill just off the parking lot and there is a creek you can wash in.
http://www.14ers.com/routemain.php?route=torr4&peak=Grays+Peak+and+Torreys+Peak
I'll have to keep you updated about accomodations. There are a lot of things that need to come to fruition first so it is still up in the air.
If you hike Grays/Torrey's I'd definitely take up Kelso ridge to Torrey's and then you can take the saddle over to Gray's. You can only run up the bottom part of the hike as the upper half has a lot more scrambling and minor climbing. But it is much more interesting than the main route and much less travelled. If you are comfortable with some easy climbing it's totally worth it. Here is a link with a description. You can also camp for free at the base of the hill just off the parking lot and there is a creek you can wash in.
http://www.14ers.com/routemain.php?route=torr4&peak=Grays+Peak+and+Torreys+Peak
I'll have to keep you updated about accomodations. There are a lot of things that need to come to fruition first so it is still up in the air.