I took the same sort of walk in the state gamelands on which I hunt, and was amazed at how many deer tracks I cut across. If I were hunting in the area you are, I probably would look for another area. You don't say what section of the Appalachian Trail you walked. Most of the trail is along ridgetops from the Delaware Water Gap to the Susquehanna. I would not expect to see much in the way of tracks at the top of the mountain in my area. The deer in January are usually lower on the mountain, but then, this is what my 52 years of experience as a hunter has taught me. It isn't how far you walk or how hard you hunt. It is how smart you hunt.
It still boggles my mind that you think sending in a card would cause the allotments of antlerless licenses to increase. You say you have a college degree, but make statements like that. Somebody has filled your head with a bunch of baloney, and it wasn't the blame commission. I expect allocations to be reduced in some of the management units, but it won't be because you are one of those who disobey the law and don't act like an ethical sportsman. If allocations are reduced, it will be because the herd has been reduced to below what the habitat can support, or because the habitat has started to recover.
There is only one word for people like you, and that is unethical. Don't be too proud of yourself. People like you are the problem, not the solution.