hikers get a bad rap

unless you're illegally riding hiking trails where bikes are forbidden, both of you have a right to be there.

and hikers only get offended, rightfully so, if some yorbo tries to DH on trails clearly intended for hiking and XC bikes.

no one wants to be staring down a mountain bike rocketing down a gravel path at 50-60 mph.

This is really a loaded subject on account of the fact that lumping all hikers into one category is no more intelligent than saying if you met one mountain biker, you've met them all.

In my experience some of the nicest people I've met on the trail were hikers, others were total d!cks. For the most part I find giving them a wave and trying to make enough noise not to startle them has resulted in a pretty mutual experience.

I live and ride in the Jemez Mtns not too far from Albuquerque and encounter far more hikers than mtb'rs on my local trails, Most of them have been pretty cool ( there are some anomalies and nudity stories). I gotta say, I appreciate the fact that there are really fairly few bikers on the trails up here.