balzaccom
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Post by balzaccom on Sept 18, 2022 19:24:57 GMT -8
I got a lot of feedback from a recent blog post on my website about trailwork to Lake Margaret. Lots of people wondering why we are taking down cairns. It's pretty simple: they're unnecessary. And part of Leave No Trace is to ...you know...Leave No Trace. I knocked down more than 130 cairns in 4 miles on this trail. I left three.
So here's my summary of cairn policy.
Should you ever put up a cairn? Before you do, ask yourself this question: Am I lost? If you are lost, don't put up a cairn. It will just confuse anyone who follows you. If you are not lost, then you don't need to put up a cairn. You found your way just fine. Please allow other hikers to do the same.
If you can see where the trail goes, don't put up a cairn.
If you can see the trail behind you, don't put up a cairn.
If you can see a log cut for the trail, don't put up a cairn.
If you can see a blaze on a tree, don't put up a cairn.
If you can see a strip of plastic ribbon, don't put up a cairn.
If you can see footprints in the dirt or sand, don't put up a cairn.
If you can see a path through the grass, don't put up a cairn.
If you can see branches outlining the trail, Don't put up a cairn.
If you can a cairn ahead or behind you, don't put up a cairn.
If it's obvious where the trail goes, don't put up a cairn.
If you are moved to create artwork with natural materials, do it in your garden at home. Don't put up a cairn.
And if you do put up a cairn to help you find you way back....take it down on your way back.
When in doubt, don't put up a cairn.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Sept 18, 2022 23:15:32 GMT -8
And the endless stacking of river or shore rocks bugs the crap out of me.
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Travis
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Post by Travis on Sept 19, 2022 5:41:15 GMT -8
I go to wilderness to see nature's art, not human eyesores. Many years ago I was hiking up my nearest 13ner by an unusual route and followed some cairns into a house-sized-boulder field.
Good rule of thumb in my experience: if the land manager didn't build it, "Don't put up a cairn."
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FamilySherpa
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Post by FamilySherpa on Sept 19, 2022 6:28:14 GMT -8
Of all the times we've discussed cairns, I don't recall a single forum member ever advocating for building them. A few have mentioned the 0.05% of the time where one was useful for navigation, but that's about it.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Sept 19, 2022 7:04:38 GMT -8
Of all the times we've discussed cairns, I don't recall a single forum member ever advocating for building them. A few have mentioned the 0.05% of the time where one was useful for navigation, but that's about it. I hope we can keep cairns and rock balancing as separate things. No matter what, the rocks you think are amazingly balanced make me feel deeply unbalanced when I am forced to see them out on the trail. As for wanting more cairns there have been a few times a long time ago that I wished for a few more cairns when I was above treeline here in the NE US in the winter. When you get to a summit above treeline with ice and snow all over the trail may not be obvious. Cairns are your friend then. More importantly finding the trail when you get back down to treeline can be critical. The treeline can look all the same on the way down. Snowshoeing on top of small pine trees covered in snow can be taxing. But now with GPS there doesn't have to be that need if you waypoint the trail at the edge of treeline on the way up.
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Sept 19, 2022 8:00:12 GMT -8
I hope we can keep cairns and rock balancing as separate things. I hope that anyone who wants to balance rocks will do so on their nose. Or maybe inside their shoes.
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Post by cweston on Sept 19, 2022 8:15:49 GMT -8
Occasionally I make a small cairn to help me find my way back to a wooded camp, if it would not be otherwise obvious. But I always knock it down when I leave the area.
I agree that they can be quite helpful on alpine routes, in the right places, but I agree that if a cairn is really needed, chances are someone has built one there (and perhaps the land management agency has deemed it acceptable and left it standing).
Actually, in the parts of designated wilderness deemed “pristine” (the most severe land management category) the USFS’s policy is to knock down ALL cairns.
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balzaccom
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Post by balzaccom on Sept 19, 2022 8:26:34 GMT -8
Actually, in the parts of designated wilderness seems “pristine” (the most severe land management category) the USFS’s policy is to knock down ALL cairns. Not always, Cweston. There are three cairns on the trail I just cleared that are approved by the USFS, because they prevent people from misunderstanding a potential use trail that is considered to have negative impact. In short, the cairn is better than the alternative.
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driftwoody
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Post by driftwoody on Sept 19, 2022 8:33:46 GMT -8
I haven't done much hiking out west but cairns were definitely needed to stay on trail in the Needles District of Canyonlands. I assume they were put there by the National Park Service. I was doing a loop that included Chesler Park, with a side trip to Druid Arch -- one of my all time favorite hikes.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Sept 19, 2022 8:56:38 GMT -8
I haven't done much hiking out west but cairns were definitely needed to stay on trail in the Needles District of Canyonlands. I assume they were put there by the National Park Service. I was doing a loop that included Chesler Park, with a side trip to Druid Arch -- one of my all time favorite hikes. Yes, that's a route that they keep marked. But when people make their own cairns, it can definitely lead you off route. And the last two times I was in there (3 and 26 years ago) there were spots where people had made lots of rock stacks.
I will say that a couple of weeks ago after following and frequently losing a "trail" (it's on the maps) to a lake, on the way down we improved the cairns in a couple of places where we got off route on the way up. SO many people hike it, and are on and off the route, that it's easy to lose, and while we always found a way, we definitely ended up in non-optimal spots. Plus, of course, people losing the trail and wandering about trample the area to death.
So I guess the final bit to balzaccom's first rule is, when you find the trail again after being lost, you may want to consider helping others to not do what you did. However, often what's needed isn't a cairn, but some rocks or branches across the fake trail.
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Sept 19, 2022 9:29:23 GMT -8
I tend to be a curmudgeon, but they really don't bother me. That said, 130 over 4 miles seems a bit excessive. Similar to when I see blazes on trees every 30 feet.
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Post by cweston on Sept 19, 2022 9:54:37 GMT -8
Actually, in the parts of designated wilderness seems “pristine” (the most severe land management category) the USFS’s policy is to knock down ALL cairns. Not always, Cweston. There are three cairns on the trail I just cleared that are approved by the USFS, because they prevent people from misunderstanding a potential use trail that is considered to have negative impact. In short, the cairn is better than the alternative. Sorry, this may have been unclear due to the typo: “seems” should have been “deemed.” The Wilderness manager of Eagles Nest Wilderness (CO) told me about their three tiers of wilderness management, with “pristine” being their top tier. She said that they have zero tolerance for any signs of human activity in the “pristine” areas. Cairns, fire rings, etc are always dismantled. In other areas not rated “pristine” these things may be judgement calls. I got the impression that these were system-wide; not unique to “her” wilderness, but I could be wrong about that. (To be clear, only trail-less areas would ever be deemed “pristine.”)
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balzaccom
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Post by balzaccom on Sept 19, 2022 14:56:13 GMT -8
As noted in my trip report, this was in the Tahoe area, within a few miles of the Kirkwood ski resort. Not technically in the wilderness, but in a nearby national forest.
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Post by Coolkat on Sept 20, 2022 6:35:55 GMT -8
Similar to when I see blazes on trees every 30 feet. This can drive me nuts. So long as you can see the trail on the ground there is no need to mark every other tree. It can actually be distracting and take away from the experience.
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Post by hikerjer on Sept 20, 2022 7:06:35 GMT -8
Generally, when I come across cairns, they irritate me. However, above tree line and in extensive rock fields they can prove helpful. The problem is, they are far too numerous often in areas that don’t need them. I suppose there is something in human nature that compels us to leave our personal mark. The building of cairns, when necessary, should be left to the proper authorities. Unless their presence is an obvious advantage, I generally tear them down and get a certain amount of pleasure in doing so.
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