It's also not just the crowds but how nuts many people are now.
I normally don't camp in campgrounds but decided to stay in NFS camp last summer, because it was free, in very remote part of North Cal, little used and well dispersed huge sites, you dont have to see others from any of them. Really just dispersed camping by the creek wihere NFS put a couple of restrooms. There were 10-11 big spots.
Took a spot on the end of the camp, the most isolated one. Entire camp was empty, no one in any sites for the entire week. One day I came up from the creek below and found a pickup truck right in the middle of my site, 2 big dudes. No cell signal, I'm on my own. I was wearing camo and got a weapon on me. They jumped back into the truck and hauled arses pronto after seeing me come out of the woods looking mad and drove out of the area.
After that I blocked the site driveway and put up wildlife camera in the middle of it too.
Another day, RV trailer pulls by my site. Next, at least 2 off leash barking dogs of that nutjob run all over my site. Then the dude of boomer age, not a newbie, comes up right up to my rig in my isolated site. My windows were open, and I actually was changing clothes. He says, and not in a friendly/smiley way, but in a pissy entitled tone: aaaare you peeeeeople going to have this biiiiig site to youuuurself?
I just said: This is ONE camsite. Without exiting the rig to meet that nutcase and pulled the curtain.
He had mumbled something sarcastic and left, luckily, without confrontation. The nut case did not chose to stay in any other sites, I walked the entire area and al was empty. I guess it was his favorite spot and he hoped to either run me off or camp next to me like in his Sacto condo parking lot.
That's Kalifornia, the krazyland, but still this stuff is too much. I had some other incidents of people pulling right into my isolated sites. Sometimes they asked weirds questions like if I know some dude...wtf. They leave once they realize no one is up for chit chat and all locked and loaded. A dude camping in Montana just got hacked up with and axe by a stranger.
Looking forward to be in the cabin full time soon and start some farming.
