accadacca
09-01-2018, 09:09 AM
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A curious but destructive practice among some park visitors is the building of little towers made of stones. These piles of rocks are called “cairns.” They may in some cases have a useful purpose such as defining a critical route over hard ground where there is no visible path or perhaps marking an otherwise obscure trail junction. In Zion National Park trails are well used and the route is almost always obvious. Trail intersections are signed with directional arrows and mileage so cairns are not needed. Most often, visitor-built cairns appear with no intent to direct hikers, but seemingly erected as a personal mark left behind, perhaps just as a way to say “I was here.”
Leaving your mark, whether carving your initials in a tree trunk, scratching a name on a rock, or stacking up stones is simply vandalism. Visitors who build cairns probably don’t look at building cairns as vandalism since rocks can be unstacked easily, but moving rocks around still can lead to resource damage by exposing soil to wind and water erosion. Moving rocks also disturbs the many critters that make their home in the protected underside of a rock. Leaving behind stacks of rocks also can lead hikers astray, possibly into dangerous terrain. Most importantly, most visitors enter the back country to get away from signs of civilization and do not want to see mementos left by others, whether stacked rocks, trash, or graffiti. So please, enjoy the park but leave rocks and all natural objects in place.
Pictured below are cairns that had been erected on the Angels Landing summit plateau along with a photo of the site after restoration by park rangers and volunteers. Which scene would you prefer to encounter at the summit of this world famous hike?
Consider taking the #ZionPledge found at https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/zion-pledge.htm.
NPS Photos / Mike Young
https://www.facebook.com/143664062331242/posts/2079031918794437/
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180901/a263b3f62fce59037ccd176486398ecb.jpg
A curious but destructive practice among some park visitors is the building of little towers made of stones. These piles of rocks are called “cairns.” They may in some cases have a useful purpose such as defining a critical route over hard ground where there is no visible path or perhaps marking an otherwise obscure trail junction. In Zion National Park trails are well used and the route is almost always obvious. Trail intersections are signed with directional arrows and mileage so cairns are not needed. Most often, visitor-built cairns appear with no intent to direct hikers, but seemingly erected as a personal mark left behind, perhaps just as a way to say “I was here.”
Leaving your mark, whether carving your initials in a tree trunk, scratching a name on a rock, or stacking up stones is simply vandalism. Visitors who build cairns probably don’t look at building cairns as vandalism since rocks can be unstacked easily, but moving rocks around still can lead to resource damage by exposing soil to wind and water erosion. Moving rocks also disturbs the many critters that make their home in the protected underside of a rock. Leaving behind stacks of rocks also can lead hikers astray, possibly into dangerous terrain. Most importantly, most visitors enter the back country to get away from signs of civilization and do not want to see mementos left by others, whether stacked rocks, trash, or graffiti. So please, enjoy the park but leave rocks and all natural objects in place.
Pictured below are cairns that had been erected on the Angels Landing summit plateau along with a photo of the site after restoration by park rangers and volunteers. Which scene would you prefer to encounter at the summit of this world famous hike?
Consider taking the #ZionPledge found at https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/zion-pledge.htm.
NPS Photos / Mike Young
https://www.facebook.com/143664062331242/posts/2079031918794437/