I am by no means an expert here either Jeff. I do know what I have witnessed as far as deer altering patterns whether by scent contamination or simply human presence. I believe they can and will pattern us. I have witnessed this on several occasions. If they are not patterning us by scent, then why will they skirt some stands and never use that trail again? Is it because they saw you? Not in my experience. I have a very strict scent regimen, but they will continue to bust us all at one point or another. Now, will they alter their pattern just because of one screw-up on being scent free? I don't think so. They may be more cautious the next time, but not enough to alter their trail. Using different trails distributes whatever scent we leave or ground disturbance oveer a different area each time we do so. imho