The problem has never been trail erosion. It’s always been a tangible excuse. The main problem we as mountain bikers face is speed differential. This speed differential won’t get better, it will get worse. Roughly 20 years ago Mountain Bikes were fully rigid. In many trail sections a rigid bike can be slower than a hiker. A fully rigid bike can’t carry threatening speed near hikers and equestrians.
Quickly we moved to front suspension and even Full Squish DH bikes. The DH bikes we 50lbs+ and pedaled like a beer can in a jet boat wake. Then there is the price of such bikes. Generally when complete the cracked the $3,000 range, when that was a lot of money for a bike. This is where shuttling gets it’s negative image. Non downhillers simple didn’t have the equipment to piss off other trail users.
Around 2004 Trek and Specialized introduced 5 inch travel All-Mountain bikes. You could pedal to the top and carry near DH speed. Then Santa Cruz broke everything open with the Nomad. 6+ inches of downhill sweet suspension, lighter than 35lbs. Chris Kavaric won a DH race on Nomads sister bike, the intense 6.6. The bike pedaled like a champ too.
Anybody with $3500 could pedal to the top and carry DH speed to the bottom. Since few trails can overwhelm a six inch travel bike, bikers don’t learn the proper respect for multipurpose trails, prior to flying down them at warp six. Worse the price of 6+ travel AM bikes is coming down. The Giant Reign X2 comes in $2200. Don’t even look at used market. I sold a six+ travel frame and fork for less than $300 on ebay.
Until the community addresses the speed differential issue, legitimately frightened hikers and equestrians will continue to blame mountain bikers for everything they can. Blaming the most different guy is just we do as humans.