Where can we backpack that avoids crowds? I start researching! Besides the internet, reading trip reports, be them on washingtontrails or alltrails and checking other’s social media posts on where ppl have been hiking lately, I check hiking guide books! There are so many hiking books out there, and thrift stores have a plethora of them to buy at discounted prices, and don’t forget the library. Hiking books have so many trails near popular spots that I had never heard of! Then I hop on a map app, like gaiagps, to see if there’s any connecting trails to the one I looked up and then I go back to the internet to research the new-to-me trail so I get more info before actually going. How to avoid packed parking lots? If you pick a less popular trail, then the parking lot will probably be less busy. But if you are going to a more well known trail and you’re trying to avoid parking a mile+ down the road, id suggest heading out after work on a Friday. You get a head start, either hiking out...