Like many others have pointed out. We were not there, you were, so who is to judge. I will say a couple of things.

1. A weapon is no good to you if you don't have it with you.

2. The people on horses were not Forestry Service. If you read the rules at the websites, Guns are ILLEGAL in National Parks, and LEGAL in National Forests (within applicable local and state laws). If you were in a National Park they would have come into camp, talked with you and let you know. They would have show you ID and if they were afraid of "the crazy guy with the gun" they would have marked your location and had you followed / tracked. So they could deal with you later.