It depends. It sounds like he spoke to rangers who said "No, don't go there." and later on he went anyway...when no one was around. I am pretty sure that Trail Ridge Road had a gate with "Road Closed" sign. He might eventually get a ticket for"creating a dangerous situation" or some such.

The classic priorities for NPS folks are 1)saving lives, and 2)extinguishing fires.

You wouldn't believe the range of expertise one will encounter in park visitors. Some are unbelievably clueless and others may know more about the subject or locale than you do. Keeps you on your toes