Mammoth Mountain P1K PD

This was one of my first excursions in the Mammoth area. Unfamiliar with Wilderness regulations and armed with only an area topomap, I attempted to ride my mountain bike from the town of Mammoth Lakes to Reds Meadow via Mammoth Pass. Unfortunately, when I got to the end of the road at Horseshoe Lake, I was confronted with the Wilderness sign at the TH that clearly stated that bikes were not allowed. Frustrated, I considered going anyway and actually started out for a quarter mile or so. However, I soon gave this up since I had no idea what the fines or punishments might be. And it wouldn't have been very nice.

So I turned my attention to nearby Mammoth Mountain. The south side of the mountain is a continuous slope of loose talus for 2,000ft. Not being of sound mind, I decided to haul my bike all the way up this slope (I had no idea at the time that there was a trail on the SE Ridge called the Dragon's Back which would have made this considerably easier). It was a case of two steps up, one back, with the additional burden of hauling a 40-50lb bike up with me. After a couple of hours I emerged on the summit plateau. There was some snow up top still, and some broad cat roads that allowed me to ride over to the top of Gondola #2. At this time there was no such thing as the Mammoth Bike Park, so the sight of a bike on top of the mountain was met with considerable stares from the tourists who'd ridden to the top via the gondola. While I'd like to believe I was the inspiration for the creation of the summer Bike Park, I think it had more to do with the Kamakazi Downhill they had been running for a few years already, allowing professional and amateurs alike a once-a-year chance to race down the slopes of Mammoth Mtn. The north slopes were far too daunting for me, so I took the the service road down the backside to the northwest and then around to the north. That was enough excitement for me.

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Is this a correction?