As more and more people come to the Adirondacks to visit and venture into the wilderness, a consensus is forming that the Forest Preserve, and especially the High Peaks region, needs more protection than it has been getting.

Numerous stories this summer have reported on the growing popularity of hiking, the overflowing of parking lots near High Peaks trailheads and the crowds on trails and summits.

We’re as surprised as anyone to be talking about crowding in the High Peaks. We have long thought the difficulty of most of the climbs — the length from trailhead to summit and the ruggedness of the trails, not to mention the black flies and the frequently miserable weather — were enough to limit the appeal of High Peaks hiking to a core of experienced climbers, along with the occasional intrepid guest.

But we were wrong. Many more people will do four or five hours of steep climbing over rocks and roots just to get to the summit (going down can be even harder) than would 25 years ago. We’re not sure what is driving the influx, although knowledgeable Adirondackers have cited the influence of social media platforms, where posting photos of yourself in beautiful natural settings is all the rage.