Rock stacking in national parks may seem harmless, or even fun to make, but we invite you to reconsider the problem they pose from a broader perspective. On the one hand, hiking in nature should provide an escape and a refuge from the everyday mundane life. That refuge, ideally, should be in an unadulterated natural setting (or minimally so).
Rock graffiti, even if seemingly impermanent, disturbs the natural state of the environment for other visitors, and have a permanent ecological impact. Also, be aware that it is considered by the National Park Service as a form of vandalism and it is illegal. Please leave the Narrows beautifully natural.
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As part of your New Year’s resolution, you’ve huffed and puffed your way to the top of the local trig point. While the view from the top is worth the effort, the footpath’s summit is also littered with stacked rocks, or cairns. The word “cairn” comes from the Scottish Gaelic word meaning “heap of stones”. What are they, and why do they appear on all those hot-girl-walk Instagram accounts?
What are rock cairns?
These types of rock cairns are typically used to guide hikers through particularly perilous terrain; you can find them all over famous trails like the Camino de Santiago. Cairns, on the other hand, have recently appeared all over hiking trails, often in groups, usually near specific features or rest stops.
Cairns can foster a sense of community among those on the same journey and even assist those with a less-than-perfect sense of direction in finding the right path. However, the US National Park Service claims that the ornamental ones can confuse visitors who are unfamiliar with the area, leading them astray. The practice of erecting cairns violates a fundamental tenet of being outside in nature: leave no trace.
If you move a rock, you may have accidentally disturbed the home of a tiny critter that lives beneath it. Moving stones can also contribute to soil erosion and destroy the delicate microhabitats required by plants and animals to survive. Moving a rock to add to the top of a cairn may also cause the entire structure to collapse, defeating the purpose.
Cairns, on the other hand, are thought to be beneficial because they keep hikers on track, preventing people from getting lost and trampling over protected areas. The number of unauthorized cairns, however, has increased to the point where the US National Parks department believes walkers are becoming confused by the would-be navigation signs. Those who plan to do a lot of hiking should always have navigation tools with them, such as GPS or maps.
Where do rock cairns come from?
Waldron Bates, the lead author of an island path map published in 1896, is credited with the creation of cairns. He was passionate about trail maintenance and wrote a handbook to establish standards for how things should be done. He also established how cairns should be constructed in a style known as the Bates cairn, which is quite different from the simple stacks seen today.
While you may believe that building a rock cairn is harmless fun, consider that the National Parks in America received over 297 million recreational visits in 2021 – that is a lot of potential for damage even if every visitor moved just one stone.
What do you do if you come across a rock cairn?
What should you do if you come across a rock cairn? The National Parks Service advises leaving them alone, with no tampering, building, or adding to existing ones. Don’t even think about kicking them over. If that doesn’t persuade you, perhaps the law will: moving the rocks could be considered vandalism, which is illegal.
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