Yep, we managed to get far enough off trail a couple times that the bears left us alone. The people were everywhere, however. That trail is worn several inches into the ground in many places. One of the guys summed it up: miles and miles of horse piles....

I of course left out the night with five men, in a sports bar in Mammoth Lakes, playing pool while they buy me drinks... have to be careful not to leave too much identifying info on the internet, their wives might find me.