Cairn Kickers

Last year, I joined the Washington Hikers and Climbers Facebook group as it sounded fun. That was before I realized the group was overrun with selfie-takers who mostly favored hiking Mailbox Peak, Colchuck Lake, and The Enchantments. Anyhow, I thought some of my alpine ink and pencil sketches might be of interest and submitted a few. I particularly liked one of a cairn on the ridge above Maple Pass. I found the form striking. I was taken by the sculptural quality of it and the way key rocks pointed due north. I submitted my pencil sketch and was denied by the group administrator. He complimented my drawing but stated that they discouraged rock stacking and so he would not approve and post it. End of story.

What? Rock stacking? I had not thought much about it before that judgment as I had never in my wilderness travels encountered a collection of numerous decorative stacked rocks, like the ones in photos posted by the cairn haters. They seem to be abundant in places like Yosemite but not in the Cascades. In Washington’s mountains, I have mostly encountered only single cairns, some more dramatic than others. As a former architect and designer, I could usually appreciate the drama of a well-built cairn, er…, a well-built stack of rocks.

I have recently noticed significant editorial pushback against rock stacking and a clarion call to knock them all over. According to those who endorse kicking cairns, a decorative stack of rocks is the mark of human disturbance, and a visual distraction amongst untouched nature, which should be knocked down. They also state that the practice disturbs the soil and disrupts the habitat of small creatures that call them home. A recent news article from the Yosemite Park Service encourages hikers to stop building large rock towers and dismantle any they find. A Facebook group called Cairn Kickers International (Major League Cairn Kickers) states: “Cairns are a blight upon the Earth. Help us cull the herd.”

So, what sets the various types of cairns apart? What is the determinant of what is worthy and what is disruptive and not worthy? It is generally agreed that the most useful and appropriate application for rock cairns is to provide a navigational aid, to guide a hiker up a sometimes-indistinct trail, or to find the branch in an elusive unmaintained climber’s trail. Sounds reasonable to me as I have found those types useful. In fact, I might prefer them to the fluorescent surveyor's tape I recently encountered on the aggravating upper sections of the Rachel Lake Trail.

The steep, loose, and rocky route up from Colchuck Lake to Aasgard Pass is a prime example of an indistinct trail as it occasionally branches into meandering braids and sections where it is easy to get off route and into even steeper, more treacherous, terrain. There are occasional navigational cairns and rock stacks, which many hikers might find useful for guidance. But even on the path to Aasgard, the discernment between useful and ornamental gets tricky. If the cairn is not big enough to be noticed it serves no navigational purpose. If it is too big it may be judged decorative and offensive, a desecration of the natural world. So, where do we draw the line? What gets kicked over and what does not? My photo shows a larger-than-average cairn partway up to the pass. Should it be knocked over or left to guide?

The minuscule trail markers for Alta Mountain and Dirty Harry’s Museum trails are good examples of the more modest trailside rock piles that alert you to the trail branch that you will want to take toward your objective. Otherwise, you might easily hike right on by and find yourself later backtracking to find the turn-off. They are only small piles and clearly not decorative. Do they deserve to be kicked and scattered?

When we summited Alta Mountain back in 2021 there was a large rock cairn at the rocky summit. I liked it for its visual drama and the fact that we could see it far down the long ridgeline as we ascended. It was navigationally functional as it let us know exactly where the summit was and how much further we had to travel. We sat next to it as we had our alpine lunch and admired the distant views. I photographed it and later sketched it.

While I did not critically evaluate it at the time, I thought it deserved to stand. In reading recent WTA trip reports I noted with some disappointment that it has since been knocked over. I question the utility and wisdom of that action as it seems yet another disturbance with no value added. And who gets to decide? Who is the arbiter of what should stand and what should fall?

When I see photos of a veritable rock garden of a large group of cairns, a clearly excessive display of rock stacking, I can agree that they should not be there and warrant knocking over. Perhaps a single vertical rock stack on the rocky slopes surrounding an isolated lake in Gothic Basin is more decorative than navigational and should arguably be dismantled. But who decides? A former hiking partner told me that for years he routinely knocked over every cairn that he came across before finally acknowledging to himself that perhaps some provided navigational value and should be left as is. He has long since left the judgment game behind and now just passes by the mountain cairns he encounters.

But what about the single stacks of rocks on barren, rocky terrain that are both directional and decorative? I think back again to Gothic Basin in October of 2018. When hiking across a series of expansive, fractured rock aprons, I came across a carefully balanced stack of rocks about four feet high. To my eye, it stood out but not in a bad way. Was it navigational, decorative, or both? I could not tell, but I liked it. I set up my tripod and took photographic images to create a spherical panorama with the cairn as a foreground focal point. You can see it here. Gothic Basin Near Gothic Pass: https://www.360cities.net/image/gothic-basin-near-gothic-pass-north-cascades-wa-state-1

And, later, during our departure from Gothic Basin, I encountered two smaller artfully balanced rock cairns, one with three rocks and the other with only two. We descended past them on our way back to the main trail as we left the basin for the long hike back to the trailhead. Again, were these rock creations navigational, decorative, or both? They seemed both and I liked them enough to photograph the pair and later sketch them. Did their presence subtract from my wilderness experience? Not in the slightest as I deemed them a rare discovery and useful as they validated our path. 

So, I have been dancing around this issue for way too long. What is my takeaway anyway? It seems that any cluster of cairns, or rock stacks if you will, are highly suspect, especially if they serve no directional purpose. If they have no raison d’etre, gently knock them down. Scatter their components in an artful fashion as if they never were. If they are singular and point the way, warn of cliff precipices, or signal a waypoint, or a significant terminus. Leave them be. If they are stunning in their artfulness, you have now arrived at the point where you should make a considered decision. If you are in your artist's frame of mind, perhaps you could carefully examine their form, reflect on the intention of their creator, take a photo, and sketch or paint their representation later. And, of course, leave them standing. After all the cairn police are not likely to charge you for respecting beauty.

Going forward, as that is the only direction I have, I will evaluate each encountered cairn more closely but will probably leave the knocking-over routine to someone else.