I feel like this post is more for the trails which are highly unlikely to have bears and have high foot traffic.

I’ve been to Yosemite and walked past people blasting music up a paved trail packed with people to Vernal Falls. There’s no danger of a bear coming for anyone on that trail. I’ve gone on trail runs in the middle of a city park and will come across people who have to blast their music while on a hike. It’s not a common experience, but noticeable.

If you’re hiking through backwoods trails with real bear danger, chances are, you’re not even encountering someone else to be bothered by your music. Does it suck to hike behind someone listening to really bad techno and having to listen to it at the viewpoint? Yeah, yeah it does.