Yeah I picked up a few, it's a good challenge you are doing, and it is definitely doable. Funny thing is that early on in the wasteland I saw more bears than later, often a triple siting. So my experience is not 20, but should be soon

My first week I saw a feral wandering around, and never saw another after that lol up to day 71. I hid from that one.
- rocks are your friend! There is a knack to throwing them certain distances to divert bears etc in the other direction, you'll figure it out.
- padded armor is awesome, zombies don't see/hear you as easily
- don't attack zombies unless you have honey, etc to cure infection.
- if you get wounded, watch the bleep out because the vultures can smell it miles around and will come after you in a hurry! Get your health back up asap
- food is a real problem early on, luckily there is a lot to loot and find cans until you can get a garden growing. Early on it always seemed like I was constantly having to find cans of food to survive. You are going to want to farm asap. I had my farm perk at 2 items per harvest.
- mines you can disarm with a wrench from a distance
- visit the trader and vending machines to buy supplies, etc
Edit: I see things have changed quite a bit with A20 and farming now, so not sure how that part will work.