Out here in the wild and wooly western states, there are plenty of uncrowded places to hike, so complaining about the crowds on the trails just means you haven't figured this out, yet. Of course, the overly populated trails are usually crowded for a good reason - because they are both easily accessible and spectacular. As soon as you understand the psychology of the people flocking to those spots, you can easily calibrate how much company you'll get on a given trail, based on a bit of adroit map reading and a guide book or two.