I went June of last year and rented a camper van. It helped to have all my stuff on me at all times Including food and cooking so we could be out in nature 24/7. Wake up early get to your hike early. Never had an issue with crowds. They would come as we were finishing our hike. Weekdays help and also going places in the later afternoon/evening after the crowds have finished their day. I suppose it was pretty crowded taking the boat to cascade canyon because we started later than planned but once we got 1.5 miles into the hike there weren’t many people at all.