*COMPLETELY* pointless character

I guess they wanted some drama before the bear came around. I agree...lame.

Just to mess with you until the bear showed up. I see nothing wrong with it. I personally thought he was following them the whole time and was going to do something until the bear thing. I don't understand why people have to go out of their way to nitpick every single movie they watch instead of enjoying something new.

He was there to show what a jealous prick the boyfriend was.

I think he was there to put doubt to the male lead's capabilities of being a good guide to the woman. The lack of capability is totally confirmed throughout the movie.

In the end, wasn't he shown to be a guide or something? It looked like he was talking to that group of people and about to lead them on a hike. I missed the first part of the movie, so I didn't see how she met him.

It's shown at the end that he's a guide, and seen possibly as a good guy. Whereas the boyfriend saw him as a bad guy possibly.

You're assuming that everyone watching the movie went in with the knowledge that this was about a bear attack. I watched the movie entirely blind (although afterwards I did recall having read about it previously, but completely forgot) and therefore wasn't sure which direction it was going to take. I assumed it was gonna be Wolf Creek-esque with the character you mention tormenting the characters throughout. So when the beat attack happened not only was it truly horrifying but completely unexpected. Brad's character really helped to build up to that surprise by twisting my expectations. So yes, he did have a use. A very effective one too.

It's about how the boyfriend reacts to him. At first the BF was a confident guy, then the guide drops by and exposes the BF's insecurities.
It also made me think of how skilled the hunter was compared to him.