People come from near and far, lured by tales of its breathtaking beautiful waterfalls guarded by rugged mountain terrain. But the dangers of this siren call to nature can be overlooked or minimized; too many have failed to pay heed and have paid a steep price, including death.

During the weekend, there were two more rescues at Glen Onoko Falls. Happily, these hikers, both women, were not critically injured. One had a lower leg injury; the other, a broken ankle.Others have been less fortunate, and the list of killed and injured grows with each passing year. Spring, summer and early fall are especially dangerous.Jesse Crossley, 20, of Catasauqua, dressed in a bathing suit and sneakers, was the last to die on April 14, 2014.He fell 40 feet to his death at the second set of falls, the same area where Perla Cabral, 31, of New York City, died in a fall on Aug. 10, 2013. Crossley slipped on the slick, moss-covered rocks, an all-too-frequent scenario that proves the undoing of ill-prepared hikers.No official record of deaths and injuries is kept by the state or anyone else, but my tally taken from local newspaper records and other media accounts shows that at least a dozen hiker deaths and scores of serious injuries have occurred in or near the Lehigh Gorge State Park since the late 1970s. And most of those have occurred at Glen Onoko Falls.The falls are not in Lehigh Gorge State Park but on neighboring state gamelands managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Glen Onoko's rough boulder-and-gravel trails are not maintained. This then becomes the simultaneous challenge and danger for hikers.Despite the many incidents, hikers still fail to abide by basic precautions, while others underestimate the physical requirements to attempt the climb and descent.At the parking lot where the ascent begins, hikers will find the one and only warning sign, but it is specific and unambiguous.Cautioning trailblazers to hike at their own risk, the sign also warns: "Sections of the trail ahead are steep and treacherous. Hikers have been seriously injured and killed as a result of accidental falls from the trail and the gorge overlooks. You are responsible for your safety. Wear proper hiking shoes; use extreme caution while hiking in the gorge."Aside from the human toll these incidents take, they also require volunteer firefighters and other rescuers to retrieve the fallen from dangerous terrain. These volunteers put themselves in harm's way, too.Since 2005, rescuers have responded to more than 60 accidents and rescues at Glen Onoko.Pleas from local officials for safety improvements, a better trail and access points, climbing aids or railings have been denied because the state maintains this is a pristine wilderness area and should be left that way. Officials of the Jim Thorpe Fire Department, which is the lead volunteer unit in rescue calls because of its proximity, estimate that it takes from 20 to 30 volunteers to rescue one person from Glen Onoko.Dave Madl, Lehigh Gorge State Park manager, and safety-conscious hikers to the falls give this common-sense advice:• Make sure you wear rugged hiking shoes.• Dress properly to protect yourself against minor slips, bug bites and the elements.• Avoid wet rocks.• Have solid contact with the ground at all times.• Be aware of your footing and have a sense of your next step.• If you are not physically able to make the hike, don't.• Drink plenty of liquids to stay hydrated during the strenuous ascent. If you don't, it could compromise your physical well-being for the steep descent.Be safe. Your life depends on it.By BRUCE FRASSINELLItneditor@tnonline.com