Re: what is the reality of the dangers from other humans on the trail?

A quick two-bits of philosophy that could apply to a number of safety-oriented threads on this site: If the real pleasure you receive or anticipate from an activity that poses no obvious danger to someone else sufficiently outweighs a reasonable assessment of its associated risks of harm to you, then do it. If it doesn't, don't. Such decisions for a rational person really are pretty simple, although of absolutely no consolation to the passenger in a crashing plane who chose that airline flight as the "safest" means of long-distance travel. Bears, cougars, ticks, mosquitos, people, cliffs, snow, rocks, water, temperature, altitude, heavy backpacks and ill-fitting footwear all pose a variety of risks to one's health and safety, but regret and irrational fear are by far the most corrosive and debilitating of injuries. This is not a criticism of those who ask for assistance or reinforcement, but rather, hopefully, a nudge to those who miss out on a lot of pleasure because of undefined fears or poorly calculated risks.